Eternal Storm
by StillAnAnimal
Summary: Claire lost her voice when she was twelve. At seventeen, she learns to love, to live, to work, and that Quil loves her through being mute to becoming... immortal.
1. Living Proof

**[A/N:** ** Well, this is my new story. I have already written the first five-six chapters and I will be posting one every Monday. Hopefully after a crappy Monday, you find hope or something in my storytelling. Thank you for reading and I hope you like it!]**

"Claire, are you ready to head home?" Quil asked me as he gently rolled his thumb over the top of my hand. Despite his warmth, I shivered from his touch. Without even asking he put his sweater around my shoulders and smiled. "Feeling cold?" He asked while putting his arm around me to ensure I wouldn't be chilly.

I shook my head no to the first question, and refused to answer the second one. I closed my eyes happily and lay my head on his shoulder. I was in such a peaceful place.

We were at First Beach, watching the sun rise. He had came in to my room at five in the morning to sneak me out so we wouldn't miss a thing. There was a hardly a day where we missed a sun rise. Each rising was always different than the last, but somehow similar. Each time the sun beamed its first rays, we both thought about how lucky we were to have another day. I knew this because Quil had expressed that vocally to me, and I couldn't have agreed more.

Once the sun was above the horizon, Quil and I walked the twenty minute trail back to my house. I then pretended to wake up for the first time, ate my breakfast, and drove with my siblings to school. I was almost finished with my sophomore year, with only two and a half months left.

Quil nudged me in the shoulder, bringing me painfully back to reality. He pulled me up slowly and we began to walk back to my small cottage of a house, hidden in the woods. The entire twenty minutes Quil was talking about what he had planned for us this upcoming summer.

"We'll for sure have to go cliff diving. Not off the big ones of course. Then one day we should take a hike until we find a perfect place for a picnic. We'll bring sandwich meat, cheese, watermelon, tons of water, and a barrel full of gummi bears!"

That got me smiling widely. Quil knew that gummi bears were my favorite food. He figured it out when he saw I had five bags of them hidden under my bed.

I turned to Quil suddenly as I remembered something I wanted to this summer. I clapped my hands to get his attention and moved my hand like a dolphin to imitate my idea- surfing.

"Huh?" He laughed, knitted his eyebrows, and started his trail of guesses, "You want to dance? No? Um, drive? Make weird hand gestures?" I gave him a playful slap on the shoulder.

I stopped dead in my tracks and pretended I was on a surf board, trying to balance.

He finally got it and sighed. "Claire, no. That's too dangerous."

I rolled my eyes. '_You're the one who wanted to take me cliff diving!' _I stopped the subject there though, knowing Quil was as stubborn as a mule ever since my little surfing incident when I was twelve years old.

Quil had finally agreed to teach me how to surf, and I was overjoyed. I actually got up on the board and rode twice with Quil. One day I ended up falling, getting caught up in the wave, and I was carried half a mile out to sea. The only reason I got out that far was because I had sneaked out while he was at a tribal meeting, and tried to surf alone. Luckily Quil had this sense something was wrong and was pulled to me. Well, that's at least how he described it.

I gave him my best puppy dog face, begging him to teach me to surf again.

He just laughed. "That face stopped working on me since you were five and you know it."

My eyes rolled and I began to walk faster, realizing that I needed to get home soon before my family woke up and noticed something was wrong. Quil picked up on my pace fast and grabbed a hold of my hand. We ran as fast as he knew I was capable of.

Just when we came to my house and I was working on climbing through my window, Quil grabbed and held my face between his hands. "You're not upset that I won't take you surfing, are you?"

I wanted to nod and push him away, but instead shook my head and gave him a reassuring smile. He smiled widely and kissed me on the forehead. "See you tomorrow, Claire-bear, have a great day." And he was off.

I climbed fully in my window and took excited, deep breaths from Quil's kiss. I even jumped around a little, stopping when my little sister Holli rolled to face me in her bed. Her eyes were still shut though, so I exhaled the breath I had taken in when she had frightened me. I threw my tennis shoes in my closet, took off my thin sweater to reveal the white blouse I had chosen for today. I would have worn it around Quil this morning, but it was too cold and I was afraid he'd say it was too low cut for me.

I walked to our vanity and fixed my hair and did a little eye make up. I then retreated, yawning, to the kitchen to start the routine which was my life.

Dad sat at the table, watching the news from the small dining/kitchen area. He hunched over his cup of coffee and sipped occasionally. He gave me a small wave and said "Morning sweet-pea". I started off the morning by making Holli's lunch sack first. I hated to play favorites, but she was the light in my life. I packed her a PB&J, apple juice put into a water bottle, and a granola bar. I frowned, knowing most kids probably have better lunches, but we just couldn't afford any soda or chips. I wrote her a note inside saying: _Have a great day sweetie and don't forget to give your teacher the box tops I put in here. Love you. _

Next was Eric. Since he was a growing boy of eleven, I packed him two PB sandwiches (he was allergic to the main ingredient in jelly), apple juice like Holli, and two granola bars. I packed it all strategically so it would fit into a hidden compartment in his backpack. Eric was bullied in school a lot, and since he wouldn't leave the elementary school until next year, no one was there to protect him from getting his lunch stolen. Him and I had recently constructed a hidden place where Travis (his bully) wouldn't find it. I left him a note: _You know Ms. Hassinger will allow you to sit in her class at lunch so nothing will happen, so go there and eat peacefully. Don't let Travis intimidate you. One day you'll be big enough to take him down. Love you. _

The next three were for my older half-brothers Tyson, Kail, and Gene. Each of them got their four bologna sandwiches with two bottles of water and three granola bottles. Since they refused to carry around lunch pails, I put them straight into their backpacks. In their notes, I reminded Kail to study in homeroom before his big history test. Gene I gave encouragement to finally ask the girl he liked out to the school dance. And Tyson I criticized his big fat head and drew a smiley face with its tongue sticking out.

I turned to go join dad and watch the news, but found the table empty. I looked out the living room window and sure enough his car was gone. He went off to work an hour early. And he most likely wouldn't get home until eleven that night. That meant I would have to either get everyone to eat an early dinner before I left for work or I'd bribe Gene into making some macaroni for them all.

As I sat down in the hard wooden chair, I felt some of my joints crack and put my head on the table in exhaustion. Ever since my mother died four years ago, my family was a wreck.

Dad was fired because he missed a week of work for mourning his wife, we lost our house due to late payments, and my brothers started phasing into big woodland creatures.

The days I discovered my brothers had became werewolves was competition for one of the worst weeks of my life. Luckily, they didn't take me too much by surprise because I had been with Quil many times while he was phased. My brothers were terrified yet amazed with what they were.

I once asked Quil why they all changed within the matter of a week, but he had no explanation. The only explanation was that the Cullens and more vampires came back into the area for Jacob and Nessie's wedding. When vampires come to town, it inspires all of this wolf magic to begin. They are what caused the first wolf in the pack, my uncle Sam, to become one.

My peaceful thoughts were disturbed when I heard my oldest brother Tyson slam his door down the hall, which caused everyone in the house to awake and begin to yell. I rolled my eyes. It was time for another typical Young morning.

"Fucking bitch!" Kail screamed as he stormed into the kitchen. "You know, I stay out all night and protect this damn land, and what do I get when I try to get at least thirty minutes of sleep? People slamming doors!"

Holli was the next one to get up. She ran into Kail and scowled. "You have to put one dollar and fifty cents in the swear jar, dude!" She grabbed on to Kail's arm as he ignored her and kept ranting. "Kail, you have to! You swore, so now you have to!"

Eric arrived next. "Claire, I can't find my glasses! Dad's going to kill me if I lose them again!" He tugged at my hand and I followed him willingly to his room which he shared with Gene. "Gene, have you seen my glasses?" He shook his brother hard until Gene grunted and sat up.

I began looking at the table beside his bed. That's where I put them every night after tucking him in. I got down to my hands and knees and started reaching under and behind the table. I got eye level with the floor and saw them, so I reached my hand over to grab them. Before I even got the chance, Tyson came in. "Hey, Claire, sorry I woke everyone up. I swear it was the wind that closed that door though-" he was interrupted as his foot collided with my back. Due to his wolf grace, he didn't trip, but I lay there in agonizing pain.

Great, just what my back needed. Tyson offered to help me up, but I refused his hand and went in to the bathroom. I choked down two energy pills and two pain reliever thanks to Tyson the Bison. I showed Eric where his glasses were, and he spit-shined them so they were clean again. Just as I got everyone ready to leave, Quil came in, looking worried.

"You okay?" He asked me, putting his hands on my shoulders and looking me in the eye. I nodded and Tyson explained what happened. I gave Quil a questioning look.

"I just had a bad feeling you were hurt, that's all." Before I could thank him for his concern with a hug, he suddenly noticed my top. "Claire, isn't that top a little-?" I challenged him with my eyes to finish his sentence. He gulped. "Grown up?" I heard one of my brother's groan as Quil took in the middle part of my chest that was exposed.

Knowing we had little time, I ran to my room, put on a t-shirt, and came back out. I waved him good-bye and we all got in to Tyson's big van. It was a gift from the pack that Tyson got two years ago. He loved it because he claimed it was a chick magnet. Holli and Eric liked it because they were able to jump around in the back since there were only two seats. I was always on the passenger side, staring out the window, trying to get a little rest in before school.

First off was Holli. She grabbed her lunch sack, kissed my cheek, then yelled at Kail for not putting money in the swear jar. Thank god he had fallen asleep so he wouldn't argue back.

Next was Eric. Gene was in the back with him showing him how to sock a good punch. I looked at him disapprovingly. "Well, would you rather him get beat up?"

I chose not to answer the question, even for my own sake. Eric thanked me and Gene for helping him find his glasses this morning and took off in a flash. If it weren't for the fact that he was strictly Makah, I would have thought he was going to become a wolf in a few years.

Next stop was high school.

La Push high school had 714 students. Smaller than our old school in Oil City. We transferred here while I was in the middle of sixth grade. It was small, and everyone knew everybody. The guys were either wolves like my brothers or complete jerks that wanted to fill their lives with weed and sex.

Tyson parked his van and we all got out, with the exception of Kail. Gene thought it would be funny to leave him in there, but I climbed in the back and shook him awake anyways.

As I walked in to the school with my three brothers, all the girls were sighing in awe at the 'Hot Young boys'. Probably wondering how in the hell a loser like me could be related to such 'Gods'.

Even though we were half siblings, we still looked alike. The dark skin, hair, and eyes all about the same tone. Gene and I had raven black hair like our father. Tyson and Kail had the identical dark brown hair which was from their mother Julia. She was Quileute so that's where the wolf gene had been passed down. Julia had walked out on dad when she found out that he was cheating on her. In time, my older brothers learned to forgive their father, but still wished their mother was around. She fled the country, and only sent the child care money she was ordered to. Dad had been cheating on Julia with my mother; Anna. Anna was Makah like dad, which is why Eric has no chance in hell of phasing like his older brothers. My mother was always caring, and didn't marry our father until she was pregnant with Holli. Unfortunately, a couple of years later she was killed while driving home in a snow storm.

My brothers took the news worse than I had. Anna was just like another mother to them. She treated them with respect and tried to give them anything and everything she had because she felt guilty that that she was the one who split their parents up. I remember when the news came from my father that she had perished, Tyson just flat out left.

Kail was absolutely silent, but I could see the tears welling up. He was a big softy when it came to his family. Gene was left comforting me and Eric. Holli was only two, she didn't understand what 'dead' meant, but she cried once she felt the sadness radiating around.

The funeral was four days later. Kail had disappeared along with Tyson, and Sam had delivered the news that they had phased into wolves. They were so distraught, they couldn't phase back. Gene was able to wait until after the funeral until he ran out and joined his brothers.

I can still remember walking up to my mom's casket. My dad was in the back talking to a few of his aunts and uncles, and I brought the kids up with me. At the age of twelve, I held Holli in my arms, along with Eric's seven year old hand in mine, and we walked up a long aisle. My mother was Catholic, despite growing up to believe Makah legends, so the place her ceremony was at had beautiful glass stained windows and candles everywhere. I saw a few people turn up their heads as we walked by, anxious to see how Anna's children were going to react. Holli bawled when she saw mom. She tried to jump out of my arms towards her, but I kept them locked around her.

Before I could break down in front of my sister, Aunt Emily had came and retrieved Holli from me so I could stand alone with Eric for a while. He was so strong; he never cried. I, on the other hand, was pulling out tissues left and right from my little purse. Before we turned to head away, Eric leaned over the casket, whispered, "I love you mom", and kissed her cheek tenderly. I started to sob and pulled him in to a hug. The rest of the day was a blur.

I was brought back to the actual time when Kail nudged me. "Whatcha' crying about, Claire?" He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and rubbed my arm softly.

Quickly I wiped away my few stray tears and shook my head at Kail. It was when I turned my head I noticed Derek staring at me from across the hall.

Derek was my first crush when we moved to La Push. He was very popular, but so caring and nice to everyone. His mother was deaf, so he was fluent in sign language and showed me the ropes around the school. My brothers never approved of my crush, but they would have to deal. Sometimes they were just _too_ observant.

**[What's to come:** I pushed Kail slightly out of the way when Derek started making his way to me. Kail grunted but walked a few feet to his locker and started putting his bag in it.

'_Good morning, how are you?' _Derek signed to me.

I smiled. '_I'm good. And yourself?' _I signed with extra grace.

"Just fine now that I've ran into you," he flashed me a toothy smile, then leaned forward. "I was actually wanting to ask you something of mild importance."

I raised my eyebrows in interest.

He placed his hand around my waist, despite the killer glare he received from Kail. My stomach lurched forward in excitement and fear. "Walk with me, won't you?" He pulled me along with him anyways. As we moved, we got a good amount of people staring at us. Probably wondering what this attractive guy was doing with a silent, mousy girl like me. "So, I'm sure you're aware of the 'Last Chance' dance tomorrow night." **]**


	2. Invisible Touch

**[A/N: Happy Monday! Hope you enjoy this chapter!]**

I pushed Kail slightly out of the way when Derek started making his way to me. Kail grunted but walked a few feet to his locker and started putting his bag in it.

'_Good morning, how are you?' _Derek signed to me.

I smiled. '_I'm good. And yourself?' _I signed with extra grace.

"Just fine now that I've ran into you," he flashed me a toothy smile, then leaned forward. "I was actually wanting to ask you something of mild importance."

I raised my eyebrows in interest.

He placed his hand around my waist, despite the killer glare he received from Kail. My stomach lurched forward in excitement and fear. "Walk with me, won't you?" He pulled me along with him anyways. As we moved, we got a good amount of people staring at us. Probably wondering what this attractive guy was doing with a silent, mousy girl like me. "So, I'm sure you're aware of the 'Last Chance' dance tomorrow night."

I nodded. The butterflies that had been fluttering were now bursting around with tenacity. I was really hoping I wouldn't ruin this moment and barf all over Derek's shoes.

"Good. You should come with me."

_Oh. My. God. _I had to glance around a few times to make sure that it was me he was talking to.

"Claire?"

My head bobbed up and down with enthusiasm.

"Great! Me and a group of people are renting out a limo, so we'll swing by to pick you up, okay?" The five minute bell sounded at that moment. He muttered something about getting to class early then quickly pecked me on the cheek.

I was left standing in the hall, a look of shock splattered across my face. As I reached up to touch my cheek, I suddenly had a flashback of Quil kissing me earlier that day. I sighed.

Though my relationship with Derek was flourishing, Quil and I were still only friends. And I knew it should be that way. Quil was supposedly too old for me, while Derek was my age. But somewhere in the back of my head I couldn't see myself ever making love to Derek, or marrying Derek, or sitting on the porch swing with Derek. Only Quil.

"What a douche bag," Kail managed to say through his teeth. "I can't believe you agreed to that, Claire."

I rolled my eyes and walked down the hall to my own locker, away from my overly observant brother. In front of my locker stood one of my good friend's Kenzie. Kenzie was nice, a little too hyper for my taste, but we made a good pair. She was also my brother Gene's wolf-y 'soul mate'. The official term was imprint. It's this whole love at first sight thing that only wolves experience. And it still creeped me out.

"Can you believe this!" She grabbed my hands and started jumping up and down. "Derek's taking you and Connor's taking me! Oh, Claire, how perfect is this!" She exhaled like she woke up from an amazing dream and leaned on to the locker adjacent to mine.

I gave her a questioning look.

She rolled her eyes. "I heard from Mandy, who heard from Josh, who heard from Steven, who heard from Ashley that Derek asked you!"

I frowned. How did gossip manage to spread itself so quickly?

"Anyways," she went on while I rummaged through my locker, "I think we should take group pictures at your house. Will Gene be there, you think?" Her eyes widened in excitement, though she tried her hardest to look nonchalant.

Kenzie had the hugest crush on Gene, and vice versa. But they were both so oblivious. No doubt Kenzie wanted to bring Connor over to my house to make Gene jealous. She had this fantasy that she'd be some sort of damsel in distress and along would come Gene to save her from her harmful fate. It was too confusing for my mind to process, anyways.

"Is Gene going to the dance?" She sucked in a breath, and I knew her breath was to remain hitched until I answered.

I shook my head even though I knew of Gene's plans to ask Kenzie about the dance later that day. I felt pain when I realized that he was only going to be shot down.

Kenzie then proceeded to gush about her dress and all the matching accessories that she was going to wear. I took her ramble as a time to think about what I was to wear. I only had three dresses in my wardrobe and I knew I didn't have the money to go out and buy a new one.

First I had my funeral dress. It wasn't the one I wore to my mother's funeral for I had outgrown it by far in the last four years due to puberty. This dress was just below the knees, had wrist length sleeves with a coat of lace atop the spandex fabric. It worked perfectly with my hips but I didn't want to look matronly at a school dance. Then I had my short lime green dress that did wonders with my breasts. It had a quarter sleeve that were made of some sheer, sparkly material. Kenzie conned me in to buying it a year ago when another dance was on its way. I ended up chickening out and staying home 'sick' so the ensemble still hung in the back of my closet. My third dress was a thin cotton thing with all Makah symbols sewn in to it. It was made by my grandmother for my mother's wedding dress. It was a light tan color, but popped with some blue and hot pink patterns mixed with green and yellow. It was rather short for a wedding dress, but came just above the knees. It was more conservative in the chest area, which I would normally like. But the need to impress Derek was too great. I knew I'd end up choosing the-

The two minute bell erupted and Kenzie frantically said good-bye and tried to arrange some papers she had tucked under her arm.

The day went by uneventful like any other, but slower than ever. I figured it was because I was dreading on what I'd tell Gene. I replayed scenarios in my head, wondering what I'd say in the texting conversation we would have during lunch time.

By the time it came around the corner, I rushed to the lunch room. It took me a few minutes to scope out Gene. He was sitting with Kail and Tona (another member of the wolf pack). I wiped the sweat off my forehead, glad Kenzie was nowhere to be seen.

I sat gingerly, immediately whipping out my old-styled Nokia flip phone and texting away furiously.

_Connor asked Kenzie to the dance. _

_ I know_, was how he responded. _And I've got a plan. _His arrogant smile illuminated its away across the table.

I raised an eyebrow. _Well, I heard through the grape vine that you're going with Derek, correct?_

_ Yes..._

_ When you're there, just keep an eye on Kenzie. Make sure that scum doesn't look at her... or touch her... _I saw my brother begin to shake.

_Gene, stop. Besides, they are going together. Most likely they'll be dancing and touching each other. Maybe you should just come along._

_ I don't have anyone to take, Claire._

I rolled my eyes._ I'm sure every girl in the school's willing to go with you Gene._

_ I don't want to use some one like that._

_ Then drag Kail or Tyson with you, to make it look that it's just a 'boy's night' type of thing._

_ That's lame, Claire._

_ You have a better idea? Besides, I'm sure there will be enough room in the limo for you. And __you can be included in the group pictures... you know, to make sure he keeps his hands to himself..._ I added that last part in to sink the line.

I saw him finally smile and dig in to his lunch that I had arranged that morning. I then realized that, like almost every other day, I had forgotten my lunch. I could only hope that Kenzie would be willing to share.

Within the next couple minutes our small lunch table had been taken up. Tyson came to sit on my left, and Kenzie on my right. Along with her came Connor.

"I am just _so _excited for tomorrow night!" She exclaimed to me. She then asked her boy toy if he was excited. He looked up from shoving his face with food and nodded in response.

"Claire, what dress are you going to wear?" Kenzie asked. She was always the one who wanted to fill the silence.

I signed her '_Green'_. I had taught Kenzie a few words in sign language, and she remembered most of them.

"The one we bought at-"

"Claire, you're going to the dance?" Tyson turned his head and eyed me suspiciously.

I nodded.

"Duh, haven't you heard? Derek asked her and she said yes!" Kenzie said with a flip of her hair.

Tyson grunted and rolled his eyes. "That douche bag? Why would you agree to that?"

"That's exactly what I said!" Kail added pounding one of his fists on the table.

Though I felt like punching Tyson in the shoulder and then flipping the bird to Kail, I remained motionless.

"Anyways," Kenzie began, as if that had not just happened. "Are you wearing the one I picked out for you last year?"

Regretfully I nodded. Moments after Derek had asked me out I felt as though that was the only one I would want to wear with him.

She clapped and jumped in her seat a little. "Yay! That one makes your boobs look great!"

I blushed furiously after she said that. Sometimes I wondered if Kenzie had a death wish.

"I'm going to wear this little blue number, Claire. It's about mid thigh and strapless!" She nonchalantly looked at Gene quickly, then back at me.

I felt like smacking my forehead. Correction: I felt like smacking her forehead.

Gene got up and left automatically. Kenzie just shrugged, "What's his problem?" And she very well knew.

The rest of the day dragged on.

When it was finally time to go home, I found Gene by his locker. He was continuously hitting his head against his locker. I sighed and walked fast paced to him. When I got within inches he put up his hand to hold me back. "I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know what I'm doing." After a few more hits he stopped and just stared into the locker expressionless. "This isn't supposed to happen. When a man imprints, his imprint should love him back, Claire. I don't get why she's messing with me like this! I can't stand it!"

Before he could slam his fist into his locker I grabbed a hold and held it steadily. He looked up at me in desperation and before I knew it he was in my arms. He laid his head on my shoulders and I rubbed his back and head. It was moments like that where I wish I could have consoled him with my words.

We stood there in the vacant hallway just a few more minutes. Then I began walking him down the hall towards the parking lot. I kept one arm wrapped around his neck and the other carrying his back pack. He managed to straighten up by the time we were outside; no doubt wanting to hide his emotion from our apathetic brothers.

The second we stepped in to the chill March air, Gene took off in a jog towards the tree line across the parking lot. Kail and Tyson, who were waiting by the van, didn't speak to him as he crossed in front of them. They both looked solemn.

"I hope your friend understands what this is doing to him," Tyson growled, not so much at me. He seemed to be staring at something entirely behind me. I turned to find it was Connor and Kenzie. Connor had given her his sweater and they were walking to his car. Her eyes quickly flicked to my family, but she looked away quick when she didn't see Gene.

"She would probably stop doing shit like that if Gene grew a pair and told her," Kail retorted then slid into the back compartment of Ty's van.

Tyson and I took our rightful positions in front. The big boxy vehicle came to life after three times of him pushing forward the key in the ignition. We slowly made our way through the small traffic in the parking lot, then zoomed off to the elementary school.

Holli jumped in the back immediately and ran right into Kail's arms. Though those two fought the most, Kail had the hugest soft spot for children. "Kaila!" She exclaimed and giggled at the nickname she had given him.

Our van then took off to the next destination.

I watched in the rear view mirror as Kail started tickling her, threatening not to stop until she stopped calling him Kaila. "Say you won't!" He tickled the sides of her stomachs, her most ticklish spot.

"Never!" She laughed maniacally.

He stopped suddenly, turning his eyes to her left hand she had been using to restrain him. "Where did you get the ring pop?" He inquired.

I hadn't noticed until he said that that she had a blue candy in shape of a diamond placed on top of a green plastic plate that held it to her pointer finger.

She smiled. "Bobby Fuller gave it to me."

He wore a confused face and caught my eyes. "Bobby Fuller? Isn't that Brady's kid?"

I nodded. Holli was always talking about Bobby before she went to bed. She had the biggest crush on him since her year of kindergarten started. Her obsession was cute.

Kail smirked and pulled Holli into his lap. He grabbed her hand and observed the candy ring more. "Why haven't you started licking it yet?"

"It was a present! I'm going keep it forever."

Kail smiled his evil smile and ever-so-cleverly placed the ring into his mouth. Holli pulled herself out of his lap immediately. "Kail! No! You ruined it Kail!" She squealed in dismay. Then quickly she climbed over the front seat and curled up in my lap. I rubbed her back and shot a look of disappointment at Kail.

He shrugged. "It's just a stupid piece of candy, geez."

Next we arrived at Eric's middle school. He climbed in fast. Tyson asked him how his day was and Eric revealed a bruise on his shoulder. Like everyone else, he remained silent the entire ride home. It was a gloomy ride home. The only noise was Eric asking multiple questions about where Gene was. Kail told him that Gene was out for a jog and might not be home until tomorrow. I hoped this wasn't true. My house never felt like a home unless everyone was there.

**[What's to come:**

When we arrived home, everyone dispersed. Holli into our room, Kail into the living area, Eric into his room, and Tyson went off into the woods. Most likely to find Gene. I decided to not disturb Holli and headed for a spot on the sofa with Kail. I pulled out my homework, hoping to finish before I had to go to work.

After about twenty minutes of Kail watching some singing game show, he sighed heavily. This got my attention and I looked up from my math book. He stood up and walked to the TV. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out tons of loose change. He carefully counted it out and put most of it into the swearing jar. I smiled and returned to my homework.

Only five minutes after Kail had made this move, we heard a quick knocking on the door. "Come in!" Kail boomed, most likely already knowing who it was due to his extreme senses that came hand in hand with being a werewolf.

I looked over my shoulder to see Quil entering. He smiled and jumped over the couch to sit in between Kail and I. "Oh, gross. Homework." He shuddered and joined in with Kail on a debate about something on the game show they were watching. **]**


	3. Winter Winds

**[A/N: Happy Monday again! Sit back and hopefully enjoy!]**

When we arrived home, everyone dispersed. Holli into our room, Kail into the living area, Eric into his room, and Tyson went off into the woods. Most likely to find Gene. I decided to not disturb Holli and headed for a spot on the sofa with Kail. I pulled out my homework, hoping to finish before I had to go to work.

After about twenty minutes of Kail watching some singing game show, he sighed heavily. This got my attention and I looked up from my math book. He stood up and walked to the TV. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out tons of loose change. He carefully counted it out and put most of it into the swearing jar. I smiled and returned to my homework.

Only five minutes after Kail had made this move, we heard a quick knocking on the door. "Come in!" Kail boomed, most likely already knowing who it was due to his extreme senses that came hand in hand with being a werewolf.

I looked over my shoulder to see Quil entering. He smiled and jumped over the couch to sit in between Kail and I. "Oh, gross. Homework." He shuddered and joined in with Kail on a debate about something on the game show they were watching.

All of a sudden Kail straightened up. "Hey, have you been phased recently?"

Quil became confused. "No, not since last night. Why?"

Kail heaved a heavy sigh. "Gene. He ran off and I'm worried about him. Tyson went to go see if he could find him, but he texted me a while ago saying he hadn't found him."

"Why would he run off like that?"

Kail then described everything that had happened this day. At this point in the conversation I didn't even pretend to be doing my work. I leaned in and intently listened to their conversation.

"It's his imprint. She's toying around with his emotions with some other guy," Kail said, still hypnotized by the small TV screen.

I couldn't help but notice Quil's quick eye movement to where I was sitting, but just as fast he went back to his original position. "Oh, that's too bad."

For another hour we sat in basically the same position. The only differences were that Kail was asleep, Quil had tucked his arm behind my shoulders, and I had stopped concentrating on my homework so much. His warmth against my neck distracted me, but I didn't want it to go away. Occasionally he'd help me, but ended up just getting flustered by all the formulas and division.

"Hey, don't you got to work tonight, Claire-bear?" Quil whispered in my ear, sending chills through my spine.

I widened my eyes. _Shit! _I jumped up, throwing my assignment all over the living room floor and ran to my room to change into my uniform. I threw on my red cotton 'SUBWAY' shirt and a pair of long, black shorts. I tied my apron around my waist and threw my hair up. I grabbed my visor and ran back to the living room.

Suddenly I realized that I had lent my car to Quil yesterday so he could do a mandatory oil change and overall check-up. We'd have to take Quil's car!

I grabbed Quil by his shirt sleeve and dragged him out of the house. What I saw amazed me: my beaten up 1994 white Chevy Corsica! Quil must have drove it over here for me. I hopped into the driver's seat. My engine came to life and I shifted into reverse. As I drove out I waved to Quil, mouthing 'thank you'.

When I got to work I saw that I had a pile of dishes waiting for me. Usually they didn't hire people just for dishes, but they couldn't really use me for anything else. The girls all greeted me as I walked in, using smiles which I knew were fake. These women were the most feisty I had ever seen. They were constantly bad-mouthing everyone who wasn't in sight. And I heard every word of it, because of the small working space in the back of the store.

For four hours I stood there and did the dishes. Every time it looked like I was done, they'd have more for me. I looked at the clock and it read nine. My manager tried to convince me to take my break, but I refused. My philosophy was always that I could rest and take breaks when I was six feet under.

By ten thirty there were three of us left. Once I finished dishes I did the bitch work: sweeping and mopping and changing the garbage. I sat in my car for a few minutes, my legs tingling from standing up for too long. I took one last final stretch and went on my way home.

While I was driving, I couldn't help but think of the disaster that awaited me when I walked in my house. Gene wasn't there to cook, and dad was either still at work or had fallen straight on his bed when he got home. Kail and Holli most likely were still not on speaking terms. Eric was probably shut up in his room, worried about Gene. And Tyson was out patrolling. They would be very hungry when I arrived.

I pulled up to my house and was amazed that almost every light was out except for the main entrance light. Had everyone gone to bed early?

As I got out of my car, I saw my dad's small Ford truck parked across the yard.

Quil met me halfway in the driveway carrying a huge bag of Gummi Bears and a huge, guilty smile. Why hadn't he left yet? "I checked under your bed and saw you were out." He wrapped a jacket around my shoulders and we walked into the house. What I saw astounded me!

The kitchen and living room had been cleaned. The assignment I had thrown on the floor was now in a neat pile on the coffee table. The only thing out of place was a bowl of macaroni and a tall glass of milk waiting for me at the table. I turned to Quil and hugged his waist from the side. '_Thank you_,_ you are the best'_ I signed.

He shrugged. "Eric helped me with the food for everyone." He faced towards the couch and I saw Kail laying down and Holli asleep on his stomach, her arms tucked under his neck. Hopefully this meant that they made up.

'_Tyson?'_ I asked Quil.

He shook his head. "No, he couldn't get out of patrolling tonight. But, at least your dad's home. I even got him to eat some of my delicious cooking."

'_We will see about that'_, I signed him as I walking over to the food that awaited me. Quil then filled for me a small bowl of gummy bears as an "appetizer" then went to go put Kail and Holli to bed.

After I finished gulping down my incredibly good meal, Quil took my dishes away from me and cleaned them thoroughly. I tried to get up and help him but he only playfully nudged me away. "You do these things all the time, let me help you out, okay?"

When he was done, he turned to face me. He looked solemn in a way, but yet I could tell he was happy. Quil was always so hard to read.

I suddenly got an idea. I pulled on his arm, trying to lead him out the back porch. He followed slowly behind me, making me pull hard to get him to come along. Once we were outside I pointed to the stars and sighed. They were one of my favorite things in the world. I watched them whenever I could, wondering if they each had their own galaxies with planets and life.

"You want to go to First Beach, Claire?" Quil asked me, snaking his right arm around my back.

I looked up at him in surprise. The only time we went to the beach is in the morning, waiting for the sun to rise. I nodded but wondered why he was bringing me there this late at night.

He went inside to grab me a sweater and brought along an old Mexican blanket that always hung off the top of our sofa. I pulled the gray GAP sweater over my head and wrapped the blanket around my shoulders, just realizing how cold it was.

I felt warmth as Quil tucked me into him as we walked along our trail to our beach. I knew with Quil I could never be cold. He would never allow it.

The trees slowly moved with the wind. They looked so different and gave me a feeling of sadness in the way they were colored by the moonlight. Each time a leaf crumpled under my feet, I flinched. It was official, I was spooked by the night.

Quil kissed the top of my head. He always had an amazing way of knowing what I was feeling. "Come on Claire-bear, you can't honestly tell me you're scared. You're one-hundred percent safe with me, I promise. Forever."

I shivered, and not because I was cold. But his words moved something in me. I stored his words in the back of my mind, hoping I could pull them out whenever I needed the warm and safe feeling.

After a few minutes I decided to finally ask Quil how his family was doing. This wasn't supposed to be such a big task, but his family was... different.

Quil lived in his own apartment which he shared with a couple members of his pack, but still spent most of his free time over at his family's home. The small blue house had seven people living there. His parents, his sister Layla, his brother-in-law Jack, and their three kids. Originally the house had been made for Layla and her family, but the last couple of years everything went haywire.

It all started with Quil's mother, Clarice, wanting to get a divorce. His father, Larry,wouldn't agree with those plans and convinced her that they stay together. Little did we know all along that Clarice only stayed because Larry threatened to hurt her if she ever tried to leave.

Quil said he never saw it coming. His parents were always happy, minus the financial problems, when he and Layla were growing up.

Now Larry was the helpless one, dying of some heart disease. Quil wouldn't tell me much more than that. He said that his parents were getting along better, but his father was still a douche bag. A few months ago they moved in with Layla's family so Layla could help take care of Larry.

I couldn't imagine living in a house with seven people who didn't get along. At least in my house we were all close and never stayed angry for too long. But there was a lot of built up angst in that family. Especially Layla's oldest son who was fourteen and growing taller and more buff by the minute. Soon all their lives were going to be changed.

"I just don't know what to do, Claire. Joel is my nephew, and I can't let him just phase without his knowledge of what werewolves are. But if before I started phasing some one came up to me and told me that I was going to be some big, hairy creature I would have freaked out," he brought both his hands up to his face and rubbed them against his forehead before wrapping himself around me again.

I shrugged. I really couldn't come up with an answer on how he should deal with this. The only thing I could do is reassure him that he'll do the right thing. '_I have faith in you, Quil', _I signed to him.

He smiled and kissed the top of my head. "Thanks, Claire. You're my best friend, you know that, right?"

I nodded. Of course I was. Quil and I told each other everything and he was always there for me right when I needed him. If there was a god some where in the sky, I think he made us to fit together like this. Quil always knew when something was wrong. And I wouldn't have wanted him any other way. Well, so maybe that a slight lie.

We got to the beach and laid down upon the very soft sand. Quil put down the blanket and I rolled onto it. He got down next to me and we looked up at the clear night. Not a cloud in sight.

"So that zombie movie is coming out tomorrow night, Claire. I was wondering if you wanted to come to Port Angeles with me and some of the boys."

I shook my head and quickly signed him, '_I can't. I'm busy.'_

"Busy with what? I thought they gave you tomorrow night off? Did you agree to take some one else's shift again, Claire? They can't do that! You already work too much. Don't they know you have school and family and-"

I clamped my hand over his mouth quickly and shook my head. He furrowed his eyebrows at me. "Shh!" '_No. I'm not working tomorrow'._

"Huh? Then what are you doing?" He asked, leaning up on one arm and refusing to take his eyes off mine.

Great. Here it came. I was hoping the subject never came up. Quil had never actually met Derek, but I'm sure he had heard enough from my opinionated brothers. Maybe I could sneak around the truth.

'_Going to the school dance'_, I signed easily with a nonchalant face.

"Since when?" He fell back on the blanket in relief.

'_Kenzie wants me to come with and Gene wants me to go to watch over her and her date Connor.'_ Good. Good wording. Maybe I could do this.

He rolled his eyes. "Gene can go himself. It's not fair to have him make you do that. Come one, would you rather babysit a bunch of high school students or watch zombies who eat brains?"

I smirked. _'I want to go'._

"Fine," he laughed. "But next time we see a scary movie, I'm dragging you there. Dance or no dance. Okay?" He picked up my right hand and rubbed over it gently. He then followed suit by covering me with his body, giving me the warmth I loved.

I nodded and yawned. I knew I should probably suggest we head home, but I couldn't bring myself to move against Quil's hot, firm body. It felt right in so many wrong ways.

**[What's to come?**

I awoke and the first thing I saw was Quil's beautiful face only inches from mine. His eyes were closed and mouth slightly open, emitting slow and quiet snoring snores. I could only imagine he might have been dreaming about me in the same way that I had dreamed about him.

The sun blinded me for a second and it was then I realized it was the sun rising! _Oh shit! _I had spent the entire night on the beach with Quil! I hoped no one at home had waken to find me missing.

It was when I tried to wiggle out of Quil's grip when I realized it. My mouth gaped and I'm sure I turned a thousand or more shades of red. Quil's huge hand was cupped around my left breast! His fingers were wrapped around the mound and he was rubbing across the nipple with his thumb.

I checked myself quickly and I realized we were still both clothed. Good, so at least nothing had happened that I hadn't remembered. Why was his hand there then? Could he really have done such a thing in his sleep? **]**


	4. Author's Note

Well, unfortunately, I may not be able to upload the next chapter until later tonight, tomorrow, or Wednesday. My computer cord broke (right now I'm using the comp at my school). I apologize deeply.

-J


	5. Animals

**[A/N Happy Monday! Your waiting has ended! Mwahahaha!]**

I awoke and the first thing I saw was Quil's beautiful face only inches from mine. His eyes were closed and mouth slightly open, emitting slow and quiet snoring snores. I could only imagine he might have been dreaming about me in the same way that I had dreamed about him.

The sun blinded me for a second and it was then I realized it was the sun rising! _Oh shit! _I had spent the entire night on the beach with Quil! I hoped no one at home had waken to find me missing.

It was when I tried to wiggle out of Quil's grip when I realized it. My mouth gaped and I'm sure I turned a thousand or more shades of red. Quil's huge hand was cupped around my left breast! His fingers were wrapped around the mound and he was rubbing across the nipple with his thumb.

I checked myself quickly and I realized we were still both clothed. Good, so at least nothing had happened that I hadn't remembered. Why was his hand there then? Could he really have done such a thing in his sleep?

My hand instinctively went to his arm and tried to carefully pry it off of my breast. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy the touch, but I couldn't let him wake up to this. What if he thought that I had put his hand there? I kept trying harder and harder to pull his arm away from me but he only grabbed on more every time. Eventually I couldn't stand the squeezing anymore, it was starting to really hurt!

I closed my eyes and brought my hand to Quil's face. I grimaced, realizing what I was about to do. I pulled my hand up and slapped him across the face. He stirred for a second but fell asleep again quickly.

My next trick was to make whatever noises I could to maybe wake him up. I clicked and whistled repeatedly. Nothing.

I don't know what possessed me to do what I did next. It was part of me always wanting a chance like this and partially me not wanting to hurt him to wake him up. My lips crashed, rude and fast, against his.

His eyes opened immediately but he just lay still as he begin to realize where we were and who I was. I gave him one last push against his chest and he finally released his grip on me. He stood up, looking down on me fiercely.

"Claire, what happened?"

I pulled my shirt up and clutched at my chest, trying to numb the pain in any way I could. A few stupid tears fell down my cheek and I turned away from him, hoping he wouldn't take me as some useless cry baby.

"Did I- Oh my god! I can't believe I did that!" I heard a thump and turned back around to see Quil on his knees, looking down in shame.

I choked up again. He was disgusted that he had touched me! I got to my feet. Quil came to my side. "Claire, I'm so sorry. You've got to understand that was a complete accident. The last thing I would ever want to do is touch you like that."

I knew it! After all these years I had pined after Quil, and now I finally knew that he never saw me as anything but a friend! I pushed past him and started on the trail home. He didn't even try to come after me. For all I know he was probably off to wash his hands to get my girl germs off of him!

I was steaming mad. I power walked the entire way home. When I arrived I didn't even bother being quiet for Holli. I climbed in my window, threw on a different sweater and shirt and stormed in to the kitchen. As I packed lunches just like any other day, I found my self slamming cupboards and shoving things into their sacks.

I was so blinded by everything, I hadn't even recognized my own brother as he came in. I threw a green apple at his head but he caught it and laughed. "And here I thought I was going to walk in on some kind of world war, only to see it's my kid sister throwing a temper tantrum," Kail boomed.

I growled and flipped him off.

"Geez! I've never seen you angry, Claire! You get your period or something?"

I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"Well, how am I supposed to know what you're so pissed about? Let's see... bad hair day? No?" He froze after I shook my head again. "Hey, weren't you out with Quil last night?"

I nodded slowly. I had hoped no one knew about that.

"Ty woke me up last night wondering if we should go off and find you but I figured you'd be fine if you were with him... Did something happen with him?"

I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. Did I want to tell him? No. But for some reason in that moment I wanted Quil to be hurt just like I had. I pulled down my sweater to reveal not my entire breast but enough for him to see newly developed bruises in the shape of Quil's fingers.

He sucked in his lips and squinted his eyes. "Tyson!" He yelled in the direction of Ty's room, then faced me again. "We are not going to let him get away with this Claire!"

Ty came running around the corner, not before almost tripping over a stool and crashing in to the kitchen wall. "Let who get away with what?" He asked Kail, his usually funny face looking serious. "Oh, hey Claire," he acknowledged me with a quick wave, "How was your night with Quil?" He licked his lips and raised and lowered his eyebrows a few times.

I couldn't help it then, the tears started falling then and I slammed my head in to the counter top and wrapped my arms around my face so no one was able to tell. "Ty, you're such a brick head. Quil hurt her!"

"No way, that's impossible! It's physically and mentally impossible for him to hurt her..." Tyson started to rub my back as I shook from my crying. "I'm sorry Claire, I didn't know..."

"We'll get him! I'll get him if it's the last thing I do, I swear it!" Kail grabbed me and pulled me in his embrace. I shook my head against his chest. Though I wanted Quil to know my pain I wanted it to be caused by me and not my stupid prideful brothers.

I heard light but quick footsteps down the hall and eventually in the kitchen. I was sure it could only be my two younger siblings. I straightened myself up and wiped away the moisture on my cheeks.

"What's wrong Claire?" Holli came directly to me, wrapping her arms around my waist. She looked up at me with her hazel eyes. I smiled down at her and shook my head.

Kail pulled her from me and set her on his shoulders. She giggled. "Come on, chipmunk, let's go to school." He looked at me once more, then turned to head outside. Tyson encouraged Eric to follow along.

Before I could head out with every ones lunches in my arms, Ty stopped me in a hug. "It's going to be all right, Claire," he rubbed my head. "And I won't let Kail lay on paw on Quil... no matter how much he may deserve it." He took all the stuff from my grip and left me standing in the kitchen, arms wrapped around myself.

Sometimes Tyson could be the most clueless, stupid, big idiot that I've ever encountered. But, just like my other brothers, when some one needed help; he was the most lovable, caring teddy bear available.

As we all got situated in the van, I started to think about Gene. What would he have done if he were here? Surely he wouldn't be as irrational as Kail, or as calm as Tyson. He'd probably sit behind my seat in the van and rub his thumbs on my shoulders. He would walk me to and from classes all day, holding my materials, and forgetting about all his worries to serve me. I'd assure him I didn't need to be treated in such a manner, but he wouldn't do anything differently.

* * *

><p>When I got to school I was almost instantly greeted by Derrick. He stood on the corner where the tar and cement met with one single rose in his right hand. I blushed severely as I walked up to him and placed my hand over my mouth. His brown eyes sparkled with what I hoped was adoration.<p>

"The most beautiful flower in the world for the most beautiful girl in the world," he said as he leaned in and quickly pecked me on the lips.

My two brothers walked past us, Kail "accidentally" knocked his shoulder against Derrick's and Ty made a low grunting noise. The students who were all still outside took sudden interest in my situation.

'_I'm sorry',_ I signed apologetically. '_Are you okay? They can be over dramatic'._

He just shrugged it off. "That's all right. I'm sure they have good reasons," he slipped the rose into the palm of my left hand and folded my fingers over.

Before I could take my first steps towards the school, Derrick grabbed my hand and led me there restlessly. "I can hardly wait for tonight, to see you in your dress!" He brought me to my first hour (Junior Lit.) and left me again with a simple peck on the lips.

I floated, trying to be nonchalant, over to my desk where Kenzie sat her chin resting on her fist. "How's Gene doing, Claire?" She furrowed her eye brows together and pressed her lips after the words came out.

As the bell rang, I pulled out a piece of notebook paper and wrote. _Not very well. He didn't come home last night._

Usually I didn't bother telling Kenzie these sort of things, because I didn't want her having any suspicion about what my brothers were.

_Oh, god. I'm so horrible! He likes me, doesn't he?_

I thought very hard then about what to reveal. _I'm not sure, actually. You'd have to ask him yourself._

She sighed. _Is it weird that I feel so empty without him? _

_ Yeah,_ I lied easily, _you barely even know each other._

She scoffed, pulled the paper away from me and wrote furiously. _How about you and Derrick, huh? You know he only does that shit to get in girls' pants!_

She had a look of triumph as I read that. Without a thought I poured out an insult: _Well, at least I won't give it to him, unlike somebody I know! _

Hey already wide eyes widened more and wrote slowly. _Oh my god, Claire. I've never heard you ever say anything so mean... are you feeling okay?_

I bit my lip again trying to decide what I would and wouldn't tell her. _It's Quil. He's acting stupid. _There that was vague enough.

Kenzie knew that Quil was my best friend, and I'm sure she knew about my gigantic crush on him too. _No way. Quil always treats you as if your a piece of fucking glass, what did he do?_

_ It's not important. _It so was. It was the worst I had ever felt in my life. I missed him but was so angry I still had trouble seeing straight. He hated me. No... worse. He was disgusted by me. Disgusted he ever laid one hand on me. I didn't know if I could bare seeing his face again.

_I'll take your word on it. Hey, when you see Gene can you text me and let me know that he's okay? I couldn't live with myself if something happened to him. _And that's exactly where the imprint came into play. Though Kenzie could be thoroughly insensitive towards Gene, she always felt horrible about it. And I knew he would be all that's in her head until she knew he was safe and sound.

And that was all I could think about until lunch time. Gene wasn't in chemistry class so I knew he was still out and about somewhere.

Come lunch I found my brothers and sat next to Kail. Tyson and Tona were on the opposite side discussing a research project for one of their classes. I glanced at Kail once and he just lightly rubbed my back. "Stay strong, Claire." Kail and Gene had an auto repair class first hour, which must of been when Kail realized Gene was not back.

Half way through lunch Derrick came to sit down next to me. "Claire, where's your lunch?"

I shrugged. '_Must have forgotten it.' _I seemed to always forget to pack myself lunch.

His left hand slid the tray in front of me. "Here, take whatever you like."

For a minute or so we debated over it. I told him over and over I wasn't that hungry, but he wouldn't have any of it. He was the kind to never give in. Finally I agreed and took a small bite of the chicken patty burger and opened the small fat free milk carton. _'Happy?'_ I asked, playful.

"Very," he leaned over and kissed the corner of my lips. I almost smiled before I remembered my brothers were at the table. They had stopped their conversation and were staring at us. I blushed.

_'Sorry' _he signed quick, _'I'll see you later. If I don't see you until tonight, remember the limo will be at your house for pictures at seven, okay?"_

I nodded and turned to face my brothers after he left. Kail just laughed, "He's a total douchefag."

I punched his shoulder as hard as I could and blew upwards towards my bangs.

At this point other members of the pack started to come join in. Dakota and Howi Clearwater came, sat down, and instantly began stuffing their faces. They were the youngest boys in the pack at the time, being only fourteen. Their other brother was eight and was already showing signs of becoming a wolf too. Early phasing must have run in their family. Tona's little sister Kimi Uley sat next to me. She was only thirteen and was already attracting attention from all the boys. One of her strongest admirer's was Skah Cameron, who sat right next to her and shared his french fries with her. Kimi told me once that once Skah phased for the first time, she knew he was going to imprint on her. She could feel it, but she didn't know how she felt about it. The last two to join were Tala and Dena Lahote. They were twins also fourteen years old. Also, they were the only two girls remaining in the pack since Leah retired a few years ago to have kids.

Then came the Black kids. They were in a category all on their own. Offspring of the former alpha of the wolf pack Jacob Black and his half-vampire wife Renesmee. Two of the boys were the tall, dark and handsome type: Leotie and Yuma. Leotie was the oldest at age eight and was the official alpha, Yuma was seven. Then there was Sarabelle and William. Sara was short, while Will was average height. They were both paler than day and had bronze curly hair. They were the same age, but had been conceived and delivered at different times. Now I know what you're thinking... why are the with us in our seventh through twelfth grade high school? Well, I didn't know much of it myself, but apparently it was in Renesmee's genes to grow like that. I vaguely remembered Renesmee as a child alongside me, but she outgrew me by a landslide so quickly and now had full grown children who only attended high school to fit in. They got amazing grades and excelled in anything you could ever think of. Every girl secretly thirsted to get their hands on one of those boys.

Sarabelle sat down on Ty's lap and began rubbing his chest. She was the biggest flirt of the school and Ty had been in love since the first day they met. He was angry that he hadn't imprinted, but I was glad. Sara didn't exactly have the best reputation around.

"Hey Tyson, want to go to the dance tonight with me?" She asked, wiggling around on his lap.

Ty gulped and glanced over at Leotie. He was Ty's alpha and there was a good chance Ty didn't wish to upset him.

"Go ahead. It's better you than some piece of shit she finds drunk in the dumpster or something," Leotie mumbled while shoving mashed potatoes in his mouth.

"Yeah," Yuma laughed with a mouthful of french fries, "You just have to face our dad when you come pick her up." He chuckled more, "Good luck, friend."

**[What's to come? :**

When we arrived home, I saw Quil sitting on our front porch. He had his face in his hands and was rubbing furiously. Kail exited the van before Ty came to a complete stop.

I looked at Tyson. He began to leave as he said, "I'll make sure they don't fight, okay? We'll take him in the back and you just bring the kids in." He slammed the van door.

Eric was clinging to my shoulder. "What's going on? What are they mad at Quil for?"

I closed my eyes and shrugged at Eric. Holli was next to worry. "Where are they going? Are they going to find Gene?"

I took this as my signal that they were going to the back yard. I got out, opened the back and helped my siblings out. I carried Holli inside and set her down on our old rug. She and Eric rushed into Tyson's room, trying to get the best look at the action as they could. After a few minutes of internally debating, I joined them. **]**


	6. Tekno Love Song

**[A/N: Happy Monday! Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!]**

When we arrived home, I saw Quil sitting on our front porch. He had his face in his hands and was rubbing furiously. Kail exited the van before Ty came to a complete stop.

I looked at Tyson. He began to leave as he said, "I'll make sure they don't fight, okay? We'll take him in the back and just bring the kids in." He slammed the van door.

Eric was clinging to my shoulder. "What's going on? What are they mad at Quil for?"

I closed my eyes and shrugged at Eric. Holli was next to worry. "Where are they going? Are they going to find Gene?"

I took this as my signal that they were going to the back yard. I got out, opened the back and helped my siblings out. I carried Holli inside and set her down on our old rug. She and Eric rushed into Tyson's room, trying to get the best look at the action as they could. After a few minutes of internally debating, I joined them.

I grabbed Holli from the window, sat down on Ty's bed and sat her on my lap. "They look really angry Claire, why?"

I didn't answer her as I tried to figure out what they were saying. Wolves had a super sense of hearing, so none of us couldn't hear a thing.

Tyson stood between Kail and Quil. He was mostly using his strength to keep Kail back but was also moving his lips. Quil looked up suddenly, right into my eyes. I drew a sharp breath. "Claire," he mouthed. "Please, Claire, can we talk?" He moved towards the window while loudly saying this at me. Kail pushed him down before he could get too close.

I gently lifted Holli off of my lap and ran to the back door which was all the way down the hall in the kitchen. I slammed the door closed as I rushed out onto the spring green grass. I waved my hands in front of me, only to see that only my brothers remained on the yard. Quil was nowhere in sight.

I ran to Kail and slammed against him hard. _'What the hell?' _Kail didn't know the least bit of sign language, but he sure understood body language.

"What? Did you want him to come through the window and kill you?" He growled at me.

Tyson stepped in then and threw me over his shoulder. "Come on now, you two. Kenzie's pulling in the driveway. Let's act like a normal, happy family okay?" He carried me through the house and out front. Kenzie was laughing as she stumbled to us with a shit ton of supplies for tonight.

"Hey you two, have you heard from Gene yet?" She tried to sound just curious, but we knew what she really was thinking. Ty set me down and we shared a look of amusement.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much Kenz. Gene is a strong, smart boy; the worst situation would be that he's lying face down in a ditch somewhere," Kail joked as he came out the front porch area to join our group. I didn't look him in the eye.

"Ha ha ha. So funny I almost forgot to laugh Kail!" Kenzie pushed past him into the house. She set all of the stuff down on our couch. Holli and Eric entered the room and listened eagerly for news on the 'fight'. Kenzie turned to me and squealed. "Claire! Can, can you believe it? In three and a half hours the limo is going to pull up and we're going to come out of the house and all eyes are going to be on us and finally people will realize our true beauty!"

I rolled my eyes. Over the years I had realized Kenzie was a bit bipolar and obsessed over the little things.

"Do you mind if I use your shower? I need to apply a shit ton of conditioner so I can curl it up all like- well I'll show you later." Without me answering, she already entered the bathroom and could hear the quiet scream on the water after a minute or two.

Holli looked up at me with a puzzled expression. "Your friend's one crazy bitch!"

I gaped and stared at Kail who was literally on the floor laughing. Even Ty was having a hard time holding back a smile. I glared at him.

He cleared his throat and tried to look serious. "What I mean is: Holli, where did you learn such a song?"

She smiled. "It's from a song. I found the CD in Kail's rack!" She was beaming at all the attention she was getting from Kail. He was still heaving.

I frowned and pointed at the jar on top of the television set. When she didn't go right away I stomped my foot and she ran to her room to find some loose change.

"Holy fuck, that was the best!" Kail stood up and held his chest as he tried to stop laughing. I gave him the same look at Holli. "Yeah, yeah, I'll go get some money."

As he left I stood there rubbing my forehead. Though I was the middle child, I sometimes felt like a mother.

* * *

><p>"Claire, there's a limo in the driveway!" Holli burst into our room, running right to me. I had been leaning against the dresser for an hour as Kenzie did her hair and make up perfectly.<p>

I sighed, _Finally! _I took one last look in the mirror, tugged at the hem of my green dress a little and tried to slide out of the door. Before I could Kenzie grabbed a firm grip of my wrist. "Not yet! We have to keep them waiting if we're going to be fashionable."

I groaned and shook my head at her. She gave me an evil eye as she walked slowly to my bed and unzipped the casing of her dress. It was a red ensemble with a sweetheart neckline and left barely anything for the imagination. There was a red sheer material running along the left and right side of the dress. I don't know how she planned wearing panties with that dress.

She took off her robe, revealing that she was completely nude. I turned around and covered my eyes. My god, she was going to go commando, wasn't she?

I don't know when this person took a hold of my former best friend. When I first met her in the seventh grade we had connected because of our more reserved personalities. Well, also the fact that Gene had imprinted on her around that time and she was completely smitten with him.

Within five minutes I was finally able to convince her to put on a pair of undies and borrowed her one of my nude colored bras. Gene owed me more than he could imagine.

Finally we left the room and descended down the hall. Before I could shield myself Eric jumped in front of me, a flashing camera in his hand. "Your friend gave me this so I could take pictures Claire!" I pushed passed him lightly to see a group of fifteen people standing in my living room.

Derrick came to me first with another rose in his hand, almost identical to the one he had given me earlier. He took a hold of my waist and whispered very close to my ear, "Let's just skip the dance, beautiful, because when I see you in that dress all I want to do is lock you up so your only focus is on me." I tried not to laugh. Derrick wasn't the exact best at flattering a girl, but he was oh-so sweet.

There was a bright flash and I pulled away to see Eric pointing the camera at us. He had a smirk smile as he ran across the room towards Tyson and his date. "Sorry, Claire. I just wanted to involve him in something, so I lent my camera."

I shook my head as I place my hands in front of me. _'Don't worry. But promise you won't put that one online?' _

"Yes," he smiled and pulled me in the large group for pictures. We stood next to Kenzie and Connor who were having trouble looking at the camera while they snogged restlessly. Again I helped out my absent brother by wrapping my arm around Kenzie's neck and tugging her towards Eric and the camera.

The next hour was spent arranging and rearranging couples and groups for endless pictures, both inside and outside. We were almost done when Tyson's date suggested we do one last one wearing the boys' jackets. I thought it was a fabulous suggestion since I was getting colder and colder by the minute. Derrick slipped his black suit coat around my shoulders and I put my arms through the holes. Since the other girls weren't as fast I slid my hands into his pockets for more warmth. I froze when my fingers touched a thin, square package. As Derrick headed in to the limo I opened the pocket enough to figure out what it was. I opened the slot slightly with my fingers and I was right. It was a condom.

I gasped and shook just a little with fear. Did Derrick plan on having sex? No, no, that couldn't be... maybe he was just holding on to it for a friend... or maybe it was a substitute balloon for the party afterwords. No matter his intention, he wouldn't be getting anything. I had barely even had my first real kiss, I wasn't ready for such intimacies!

Tyson ushered me into the limo and I took a spot between Derek and Kenzie. I gave him his jacket back, trying to forget the contents in the pocket. As Derrick slipped his arm around my waist and kissed my cheek I noticed how crowded it was in the limo. Many of the girls were sitting on their dates lap but I wasn't giving in. I didn't want to lead Derrick on in any way. I gulped as he squeezed my side more harshly.

Was it bad that, as I sat there surrounded by cute boys and some good friends and a whole wild night of dancing and partying in front of me, all I could think of was Quil?

* * *

><p>A group of ten, including me, sat around one of the tables that was set up inside the gymnasium. I played with the light blue plastic tablecloth because Derrick had temporarily disappeared to use the rest room. I checked the small, decorative watch around my wrist. The lines for the boy's room must have been piling out of the school if it took Derrick this long.<p>

I took a look around the huge room, the blue accents all around soothing me a little bit. Blue was my favorite color, and the corny and very cheap decorations were still cute. Streamers hung about along with hundreds of balloons attached to whatever was available. Some guys at the table next to me were taking turns sucking in the helium and making jokes. I found even myself laughing internally at what they were saying.

And out of nowhere came Derrick through the sea of people. He smiled when our eyes met and reached out his hand to me, grabbing my left arm that had been resting on the back of the chair, and pulling me to my feet. "Let's dance, I like this song." I went along with him willingly. I had been waiting all night for a dance with him. I always imagined he'd be such a classy, fashionable dancer. He proved me right as he placed his hands on my hips and I slung mine around his neck. We swayed and turned to a song I did not know but enjoyed very much anyways. I hardly noticed Kenzie and her date doing the same thing only inches away from us, or the change of music. It felt like I was floating and I couldn't figure out why. Maybe I did really love Derrick. Maybe even more than Quil.

"Will you come to Connor's after party tonight?" He inquired, breaking a long silence.

I shrugged and retracted my hands so I could sign. _'I have to work at eight thirty tomorrow.'_

"That's fine. I was only thinking of staying for a half an hour or so. I wouldn't even bother going myself but he might be real bummed if I don't show up even for a little while. It would be a lot less painful if I had some good company," he ran his hands up and down my hips once and my stomach flip flopped.

_'Okay, I will come.'_ I signed and then rested my head against his chest, which he seemed to like as he crushed me in closer to him.

"Claire!" A strong, familiar voice boomed at me from yards away.

I shoved my hands down to my side and removed Derrick's, looking around for a tall head poking out of the crowd. _'Be right back.'_

Finally I saw his dark brown head of hair and he saw me. We met right in the middle of some sort of dance orgy. Tyson looked out of breath as he spoke.

"Come on, you have to come outside," he tugged on my wrist and I ran with him past the entrance and through the back lawn of our school. I made him stop before we got to the tree line.

_'My shoes, my dress! What are we doing out here Ty?' _I gestured to my feet as the pointy heels sunk in the new mud as it started to sprinkle rain just slightly.

I heard a wolf howl not too far away. I inhaled as I grabbed a tighter grip on Ty's forearm and looked up at him. I searched for the answer in his eyes.

He just smiled straight forward at the trees. "Yeah, that's Gene. Come on, jump on my back. Maybe we can catch him." I tore off my shoes in a flash and he lifted me on to his back so easily. I squirmed to get comfortable as he took off flying through the woods.

It didn't take us very long to get to our destination. Tyson stopped and let me off. He told me just to stay as he vanished from my sight. I panted a bit, holding to a tree trunk while I closed my eyes and tried to rid my feeling of vertigo.

Before I got too afraid that he wasn't coming back, he returned with Gene behind him. Gene was wearing only an old pair of boxer shorts that I have seen many times since I did the laundry at home. They were red with different patterns of race cars and black tar tracks. He claimed them to be the most cozy article of clothing he owned.

I ran to him and embraced him as if we hadn't in years. He just laughed in my ear and squeezed me lightly. "How's the dance going?"

I gave him a so-so gesture with my hand and continued to clutch on to him with all my strength as he turned to Tyson to talk. "What are you doing all dressed up? I thought you weren't going?"

He glanced down and kicked at the dirt. "Yeah, well, neither did I. Jake's daughter asked me to go and I agreed stupidly. She left me mid-dance for some other guy a while a go and I didn't see her again. That's when I took a walk outside for air and I caught a whiff of you, man."

I couldn't help but agree as I held against him. He chuckled, "Yeah, I know. I got to take a shower soon. I'm getting sick of the scent myself."

My eyes lit up and Tyson said what I had been asking in my head, "You coming home then?"

He sighed and closed his eyes together tightly. "No, probably not tonight."

I bit my lip and released him from me.

"I promise I'll be back tomorrow, okay? Give me twenty four hours and I will be home. I just have to sort through my head just a bit more," he glanced at the sky as it started to rain harder through the trees. "You guys better head in before you get soaked."

I sniffled once and was glad the rain hid my tears so well. For some reason I couldn't get myself to believe that Gene would ever be home.

"How's Kenz?" He asked finally, releasing the question that I knew he had been trying his hardest to keep silent. "Is that Connor kid treating her okay?"

I had to smile in spite of my brother and nodded.

Ty sucked in a tight breath, "I'm sorry bro. I know it must be hard for you to picture her out with another guy."

Gene just shook his head. "No. She's happy and she's doing well. That's all that matters."

And that was the sentence that carried my brother's essence of who he truly was as a person. It was so hard to realize I would have to spend another painful night with wondering where he was and if he was all right. I gave him one last hug and he kissed the top of my head. He and Ty hugged quickly after that, and then he was off.

Ty looked at me and sighed heavily. "He'll be fine, Claire. You got to stop worrying so much, you have to realize how indestructible we are." He gestured towards his back and I climbed on sloppily. At this point I was feeling so gross and sad that all I wanted was to see the one person who made me feel beautiful. Well, one of the persons that make me feel that way.

**[What's to come? :**

Before I could enter the school again Ty pulled on my shoulder. "Hey, I think I'm going to head home. Do you want me to come pick you up when the dance is over?"

Luckily before I could confuse my eldest brother with sign language I felt a pair of warm hands slip around my waist and a head on my shoulder. "No, we're going to head to Connor's for a party. I'll drive her home when it's over with," Derrick told Tyson directly.

Tyson only rolled his eyes at this but stood there enough to tell me, "Stay safe, Claire. Don't drink or smoke or have se-"

Before he could blurt out something that would thoroughly embarrass me I slammed my hand over his mouth. I nodded and mouthed that I'd promise him I would be okay. After that he gave one last warning look at Derrick and walked across the parking lot. **]**


	7. Wait So Long

**[A/N: This is the last chapter of Part 1. The next part will be in some one else's POV. Whose, you ask? You'll find out soon.]**

** I turned to Derrick fast, _'I'm sorry. We just went out for a walk in the woods. I didn't figure it would rain. Now my dress is all ruined!' _Not to mention I forgot my shoes by the tree line.**

He looked amused, "Oh, don't worry. You look just as thrilling... did I ever tell you how much I enjoy that dress?" He planted a few kisses along my neckline and I froze still. "Besides, what's the point of going back inside? The music's loud enough to be heard out here, and there's so many people..." His arms snaked around my back and finally rested on my lower shoulder blades. In turn, I cradled his face in my hands, instantly forgetting about Gene. And Quil. And work. And life.

The rest of the dance flew by. Derrick and I remained outside and the rain eventually quit for the time being. We danced to all the slow songs and talked through all the upbeat ones. Before I could blink my eyes twice people were flooding out in the parking lot. The limo showed up and we were the first ones to climb in. This time it was even more crowded, since everyone wanted a lift to Connor's and I had to guess that some of them weren't able to drive with the state they were in. When Kenzie entered she spotted me and came to squeeze between me and some random guy.

Kenzie pulled out her old Samsung phone from her bra. She gleamed as she tapped away. After a few seconds she handed the phone to me. _How has your night been? Mine's been amazing!_

_ Mine too. I saw Gene tonight, by the way, and he's doing okay._

She closed her eyes in frustration and grabbed the phone from my grasp when they reopened. _I've been trying so hard to forget about him._

Seeing that she really wasn't in the mood to talk about him, I changed the subject. _Do you have a ride home?_

She captured my phone, read my question, and took a minute or two to answer. _I think I'm just going to stay the night._

I gave her an interrogating look. She clutched the phone back in her palms and just whispered in my ear. "Obviously, I need some help Claire. And I think Connor could do me wonders. Didn't you ever hear that sex relieves stress?"

I bit my tongue and closed my eyes. I really hoped Gene would never find out about this. I knew he was playing that 'I'll be happy for her no matter what' but I couldn't see him acting that way once he figured out she had lost her maidenhood.

After that the limo dropped me and Derrick off at his house. At first this puzzled me, but he swore it was only so he was able to drive me home afterwords. We jumped in his coal black truck and headed straight to Connor's house. He kissed me on the forehead once we entered and said he would be back soon after he hung with the boys for a little while.

The music blasted and there were signs of alcohol everywhere. The empty glass bottles; the bright red plastic cups set up for a round of beer pong; and people falling over their own feet. I was immediately glad that I had never taken a liking for alcohol. I already looked stupid without the affect of the drink.

I stood there awkwardly for a few minutes before spotting out my cousin Kimi Uley. She sat alone at what looked like the dinner table. She looked like she was pretending to be immensely interested in the can of Diet Coke she had in her hand. I walked over to her and she offered me a chair.

_'I didn't see you at the dance tonight'_, I signed to her. Kimi and I had been real close when we were younger though I was four years older than her. She asked me to teach her sign language when she was eight and she caught on really quick.

"We didn't go. He went last year and claimed it won't really be fun until we're upperclassmen. He wanted to come here so him and Tona could play drinking games and win money," she laughed and gestured over to the other side of the large room. I saw a card table surrounded by mostly boys who were taking turns throwing small, plastic balls into red cups. Tona's landed in one and Skah high fived them. Kimi sighed then played with the tab on her can. "I'm just glad they're getting along. Tona was super pissed when he found out that Skah had taken me on his motorcycle."

My eyebrows raised. _'He's only thirteen. Isn't that a little dangerous?'_

She scoffed and finally ripped off the aluminum tab. "Skah would never let anything happen to me. I'm his... well, soon to be his imprint."

I tried not to roll my eyes at her naivety. _'Is Tona going to be okay to drive you home later?'_

"Oh yeah," she flipped her hand, "The alcohol burns out of him so easily. How are you getting home?"

_'Derrick's driving me.'_

She wiggled her eyebrows. "Ooh, are you going over to his house?"

My mouth gaped open as I stared at her in shock. _'Absolutely not!_

_'_ "Oh don't act so innocent Claire. You're seventeen, you can't tell me you haven't ever got your cherry popped," Kimi smiled slyly.

_'No I have not. And I don't plan on it happening anytime soon.' _I folded my arms.

We talked for another half an hour about losing the v-card. She promised me she'd keep hers until Skah had imprinted on her. _If Skah imprinted on her, _I thought. I couldn't believe how sure she was about all of this. Eventually Skah and Tona came around so we cut the chat and started playing a silly 'would-you-rather' game.

Tona smiled as he thought of something that was sure to be "clever". "Would you rather lick someone else's armpit or have someone else lick your armpit?"

My face scrunched up in disgust. Skah and Kimi laughed in unison and picked the latter. I shook my head in a way of saying neither. "Oh, come on Claire. You have to pick one!"

Before I could agree with the other two I felt two hands grip on to my waist. Derrick breathed heavily over my shoulder and tried to reach my lips to kiss. I turned to him and he lost his balance. I held him up for a second or two before Tona grabbed him and stood him up straight. "You alright, buddy?"

Derrick's mouth hung open and his eyes flickered around the room before landing on me. "Yeah, buddy," he pushed hard against Tona's chest. "Come on, Claire. We should head home."

Before Derrick could grab my hand Tona stepped between us. "How about I drive you guys home?"

I turned towards Kimi and signed quick. _'Tell Tona I'm going to drive.'_

Kimi gripped Tona's shoulder and told him what I had said. He backed off then and I slung Derrick's arm around my shoulders. He stumbled a lot as we walked through and out of the house. We parked down the street a bit so I continued to struggle with his weight. Once or twice he fell over and it took two minutes to actually get him back on his feet.

As we passed other cars, I saw a lot of 'motion' going on. Hopefully Derrick didn't catch the idea. When we got to his truck I opened the door clumsily and begged him to climb inside. He just smiled and laughed and fell down to the ground. I crouched. _'Come on Derrick, you have to get home. I have to get home.' _I felt disgusted realizing I was using the same vocabulary that I would with a four year old.

He clutched my shoulders and pulled me down with him. "Don't fucking do that hand shit. I know you can talk, you cunt!"

I slapped him across the face and stood up, my face starting to drown in tears. If this is what kind of guy Derrick really was, I didn't mind just leaving him there to rot. Before I could walk back to the house Derrick locked a firm arm around my neck and another around my waist. I kicked at him but he wouldn't let go. Maybe he wasn't as vulnerable as I thought. I desperately tried to break free against him but he already shoved me in his truck. He laid over me, his breath stale and his eyes burning. Some how he managed, in his drunken stupor, to climb over me, hold onto me, and start the car. I writhed in his arms and sobbed quietly.

Just as he let me go I realized he was doing sixty five down the main road. Where were the cops when you needed them.

Derrick kept talking and calling me names while he swerved all over the road. I couldn't wait to get home and tell Kail. My hot-headed big brother would be really useful in this situation.

We passed the road that would lead to my house. I gave Derrick a look of fear.

"Don't you want to go home and fuck, sweetie?" He asked maniacally.

I gasped and shoved myself the furthest I could away from him. I couldn't underestimate him any longer. I pulled out my phone secretly so I could press two and call the man I always kept on my speed dial.

It was too late, though. Derrick pulled the phone from me and threw it out of the driver's window.

A half an hour passed by. Suddenly, he started pulling over, holding me tighter than ever. "Let's not wait. Come on, take off your dress!" I struggled as he began to pull at all the pieces of fabric that I was wearing.

This must have been where the adrenaline kicked in. I was somehow able to pry his arms off of me, punch him in the face, and exit the truck. I ran blindly through the ditch and into the dense forrest. I sat behind a bush and hid.

"You fuckin' tease!" I heard him yell as he got out and tried to follow after me. I had a stroke of luck, though, and he retreated back to the vehicle after ten minutes of looking. I heard the tires screech as he left.

I sat there and cried for what seemed like forever. We were miles and miles from home. My cell phone was ruined and I was freezing cold as it began to rain again. As I sat there I made myself a promise that I would never interact with that low life again. That I would stand by as my brothers ripped him piece from piece.

There was a rustling in the brush. I sat up, alarmed. Perhaps it was just one of the pack members who was nearby. I didn't realize how wrong I was until the creature pounced on me and started clawing at my chest. I stared face to face with a mountain lion. I felt my chest rip open and I clutched at the ground below me.

This was it. This was how I was going to die. I was never going to watch Holli grow up and fall in love. Or see the rest of my brothers imprint. I would never get a chance to say good-bye to the man who raised me. And I would never see Quil's face again.

I cried harder. Where was Quil? Hadn't he promised he would always protect me?

My mind tried to think of one last prayer but the pain spreading through my body hurt. The huge cat was gnawing on my arm playfully as I tried to crawl away. Every time I got further away, it would just pull me back and chew harder.

Before I allowed myself to faint, the cat was gone. It seemed as though it flew off me in a flash. My vision went blurred but I could still see a fair-haired man looking down at me with sparkling golden eyes. He stared at me and I started to lose consciousness. He started to wrap his arms around my body but I pushed him away. He was hard. Like he was made of stone.

"Don't fight. I'm not going to hurt you. You're going to be okay." Said this creature with a soothing voice that I couldn't help but trust. "Don't close your eyes. You have to stay awake."

**[What's to come? : **

…...

…...

…...

…... Gene's POV! **]**


	8. Around My Head

**[Happy New Year's to everyone! Hope you like the chapter! (In Gene's POV by the way!) ]**

Seeing Tyson and Claire was the ultimate punishment for leaving home. I was then reminded of my other three siblings I left. Especially Eric, who depended on me more than anyone else, was probably worried out of his mind. I couldn't deny that I worried about him too. There was some fear inside of me that he would sneak out of his room and try to find me.

Even worse, was the thought of Kenzie. She had hurt me so bad, yet my mind rarely strayed from her. I loved her more than the Earth and sky. More than I had ever loved one anyone. But, she didn't feel that way. She had used my infatuation to hurt me. But yet, I still wanted to be by her side and protect her fiercely. It was hard to know she was with another guy, but I had to pretend to be happy. I would remain a good friend to her if that's what she would need of me. I was the most fucking loyal puppy on the planet.

Once the moon reached mid-sky, I decided to phase. I knew it was Kail's night to run patrol.

I had it in my mind that I was only going to ask about Eric and then transform back to sleep for the night.

The second my body shifted into an enormous, Russian blue colored wolf I could smell our worst enemy. The reason that I was this creature. Bloodsuckers.

My feet only traveled a few hundred yards before I heard my brother in my head, along with various other members of the pack.

_Gene! Hey, brother, how you doing? You okay?_

_ About time... where have you been? _That was Dena. She certainly never lacked an attitude.

_Can't you smell those vamps? Let's go get them! _I said enthusiastically. Everyone seemed to internally roll their eyes.

_Those are the Cullen's... my mom's family. They were in the state visiting. They'll be out hunting all night, but on the other side of the border. They plan to be back in Canada by sunrise, though, _spoke Yuma, wisely. He was one of the son's of Renesmee Cullen Black and Jacob Black. He was also considered the Beta of the pack.

_Oh, that's too bad_, I snickered. Embry laughed heartily. We all shared the the love for ripping up bloodsuckers up piece from piece. That was the moment I realized Quil was missing. For years we always ran night shifts with the exact same people. I ran with Tona, Tala, Dakota, and Skah. Tyson was with Leotie, Embry, and Howi. They kept us brothers apart so if we were ever in a dire situation we could focus more on tearing up a vamp and less about each other. Not that it mattered. After these few years of sprinting around as a wolf my group had become so close to me. They were all my siblings.

Which was why it was an odd thing for Embry to be out and about tonight. It was Quil's night for phasing.

Kail started growling. _I'm glad that fuck-tard isn't here, if he was I would claw off his pretty boy face!_

_ Huh? _I thought before thought of finger-shaped bruises and Claire crying invaded my mind. _No. That couldn't have happened... She's his imprint._

_ It's probably all a misunderstanding, Kail. Now stop thinking about that and focus, _Yuma ordered. Though Leotie and Jacob were the heirs of the alpha gene, they gave Yuma all rights to order us too. I didn't mind it, but Kail was never very pleased with that fact. _Quil went to Seattle to see his family. His dad had a heart attack._

_ Oh man, _my heart sank. Quil was like a brother, and I never wanted him to ever have to go through losing a parent.

_What kind of brother assaults your younger sister, huh, Gene? _Kail growled at me, before being shut up by Yuma.

Embry roared, _Don't talk about Quil that way. _

Dena scoffed, _Shit happens, Em. I once loved a man so, so much... and I thought he loved me too until..._

_ Yeah, yeah, _Kail snorted, _until he raped you. We all know the goddamn story, spare us the image, please._

Yuma's mind went red. This was never a good sign. _I want silence! Can everyone just shut up? _His mind then closed up. Most likely he was having troubles with his 'wild child' imprint that he'd met at a strip club. Sometimes I felt like I could relate with Kenzie being just as fierce and free. Yuma sighed then, _You have no clue, brother._

For a while everyone ran eerily silent. Yuma then told everyone they could talk again, but not about Quil.

_Is Eric doing okay? _I asked Kail.

_Meh, he's a bit shaken up. I think he's worried about you, bro, more than anyone else. Before I left for the shift he fell asleep on the couch.. I put him in my bedroom with Ty. _Kail said, sadly. His mind flew around, remembering bruises on Eric's arms.

That's when I knew I would have to go home today. It was Saturday, so maybe I'd take Eric to the beach before I had to work. Eric loved the beach, him and Claire went there regularly. It wasn't usually my scene, but I would go to the ends of the Earth to make my half-brother happy. He'd had a tough life for only being nine years old.

_I'll see you later, Kail_, I told him as I phased back to be alone with my mind.

For hours I sat in one spot and dozed on and off. My mind spun with thoughts of Kenzie and Claire and Eric... But mostly remained on my imprint.

I had my recurring dream where everyone I knew and loved betrayed me and left for some other country. It never had been very detail-oriented and more focused on me coming up with different ways to make them stay with me. Kenzie was always the last to leave on a fancy jet plane, draped all over some copper haired man.

_Had Kail been telling the truth about Claire and Quil?_ My mind jumped around from thought to thought. Of course he had, though. He was my brother, and it's hard to lie when you're reading some one's exact thoughts.

But Claire was Quil's imprint. Him hurting her made as much sense as me hurting Kenzie. I would never live a day in the world where I could hurt Kenzie. How could you injure something that grounded you to this world? It all just didn't add up. Hopefully there was something I didn't know about, and it would become clear after talking to Claire.

My legs stretched out and I curled my toes. My back was now just beginning to hurt after laying against a tree trunk for many hours... or at least I thought it had been a while. My eyes squinted against the bright sun and I could estimate it was about five or six in the morning.

_Time to head home_, I thought to myself before removing the one article of clothing I had.

It took me a while to get home, since I walked mostly in human speed. This gave me more time to sort through my thoughts and come up with excuses as to why I left.

When my small, brown house came into view I stopped in my tracks. _Come on Gene, you can't just keep away like a little kid. _After my step-mom died (and I became a wolf) I didn't come home more than a couple of times a month. I fell behind in school. My relationships with my family were diminishing, and I thought about suicide a lot.

Before I could manage to go through with dying, my family moved to La Push. I willed myself to go to the first day of school, to make my family happy, and that was when I met Kenzie. My memories of that day were perfect.

_My hair fell in my eyes and I didn't bother to wipe them away this time. I had stopped caring about my untidy appearance after I phased for the first time. And I really didn't want to be in school. But I could feel Claire's meek presence beside me and I couldn't let my little sister down, not with everything she had been through in the last couple of months._

_ It all started with Anna's (my step-mom's) death. I think she was the most devastated out of everyone. For days she cried loudly in her room. It didn't help that that was when my brothers and I all started phasing. She hadn't known what to do with herself. _

_ A week later, she stopped talking. Dad took her to the doctor and he had said that it was a cause of some post-traumatic stress or something. I always thought it was from her loud screams and cries every night, despite Quil being by her side as much as possible._

_ Claire stood on her tip toes to kiss my nose and hug me before going into a classroom. It was then I really started thinking about skipping school and running up to Canada or something._

_ That was before there was a tap on my right shoulder and I turned around to see a breath-taking sight: McKenzie Elizabeth Nahmin. She had dark brown hair, wavy and all natural-like. She wore glasses and an old Gap sweater with baggy jeans. I gave her a weary smile at first before I realized that she was my imprint. Then came that "world-rotating" feeling. _

_ "Hi," she pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose and readjusted some books she had tucking in her left arm. "I'm McKenzie Nahmin, and I heard you're new here. Do you need help with anything?" She looked so nervous, she wasn't able to keep eye contact with me._

_ "Uh, hey," I said right away, not realizing how stupid I was until a few seconds of staring at her flawless face. "Um, yeah, I think I need a tour. My other school wasn't as big or, uh, busy, you know?" That was a total lie. But I had to make sure she'd really spend time with me and I wanted so much to keep hearing her soft and quiet voice._

_ "Cool," she nodded. "Um, I have class. Let's meet here at lunch time, if that's all right? I can show and tell you everything about La Push High."_

And now all I could do is sit and wonder about where that girl went. That anxious, "dorky" girl who used to put so much effort into things she really wanted.

Not that I loved her any less for who she was now. She was just harder to be with. Thinking about her now just burned me instead of bringing me joy.

Trying to get the pain of her out of my mind, I walked through the back door of my family's cottage. I slid the patio door slowly and quietly as was possible. Since it was Saturday, most likely everyone was still sleeping. As I walked in the living room I caught a glance at the clock saying it was nine o'clock.

The first place I stopped, in the hallway that had all the bedrooms adjacent to it, was my father's room. Just like I expected, he was up, staring blankly at his computer screen.

"Gene," he laughed and left his work for a moment to give me a hug. I put my arms around his shoulders.

"Hey, dad. I'm sorry for leaving like that, it's not going to happen again," I told him, looking him right in his brown eyes.

He pushed me out a little but kept both his hands on my shoulders. "I trust you, Gene. You just might want to guarantee your little brother that. He hasn't slept well the past couple of nights. You've got to stay and protect him, son."

I sighed. "I know." Boy, was that true. Eric was always beat on, by everyone. He saw himself as nothing but a small, weak boy. I knew he had the potential to be greater, though. "Never again, father."

"Good," my dad smiled, something we kids didn't regularly see.

The house phone rang, and before it could echo through the small building my father ran and picked it up furiously. I turned to leave him alone during his "important business calls".

"Claire? What?"

I turned to face him again and saw he was looking intensely at the ground with his eyebrows furrowed together. "What's wrong with Claire?" I questioned, not expecting an immediate answer.

"Um, sure. I bet she just overslept. I'll get her there as soon as I can," he finished, slamming down the phone and sitting back down at his computer. "That was Claire's work. They said she was scheduled to start at eight thirty but hasn't shown up yet. Can you wake her up, Gene?"

I walked out of the room scratching my head. I certainly couldn't remember smelling Claire's beach-y scent as I entered our home. My hand slowly turned the knob on the door to her and Holli's room. All I found then was a sleeping six year old girl and another empty bed.

My head swam, trying to think of why Claire wouldn't show up to work. My younger sister was more responsible than me!

I barged into Ty and Kail's room to grab one of their cell phone's since mine was in my room and I didn't want to wake Eric quite yet. I went to grasp Kail's phone on his dresser and started punching in Quil's number before I remembered. Quil's dad had had a heart attack last night, so he probably wasn't keeping tabs on Claire lately. Besides, why worry him when he already had so much going on?

"Ty," I shook the big figure hanging half off his bed. "Do you know where Claire is?"

He groaned. "In her room, sleeping.." he started to go back into his slumber before I grabbed his shoulder and pushed him to the ground. He sat up immediately, alert. He sniffed for a split second. "She isn't here? Oh, don't worry, she's working today."

"No," I shook my head.. "They called because she didn't show up. Did she come home with you last night after the dance?"

He thought for a second. "No. She went with the douchefag to the other kid's house. Maybe she fell asleep there."

I rolled my eyes. "That doesn't help."

He stretched as he got on his feet. "Shit. I gotta get to work myself. Look, I'll give you directions to Connor's house to go get her, okay?"

As much as I didn't want to spend an hour finding my way to some kid's house, I knew I had to help Claire out. She didn't deserve to lose her job because of sleeping in for once in her life.

Turned out that Connor Loren only lived twelve miles from our house, just on the outskirts of La Push.

"Hey, take these," Kail threw a t-shirt, jean shorts and a pair of hole filled shoes.

I raised my eyebrows in question. "Well, do you really want to go stumbling around some random kid's house in only boxer's shorts?" He had a point. My brothers and I already stood out a lot at high school. Before I entirely left the room he threw a pen at my head. "Hey, bonehead," I turned so he could see me roll my eyes dramatically, "Glad to have you back."

"Careful now Ty, don't let your brains go to your head!" I told him loudly as I walked out of his room. My feet led me out the front door of my house and I pulled on the clothing Ty borrowed to me as I ran. Usually I would take this as an opportunity to run in wolf form, but I really didn't want to deal with the pack right now.

_Get Claire. Run her home. See Eric_. These steps repeated over and over in my head.

I knew that the second part would be the hardest. Claire hated to be moving so fast. I didn't really get her problem, it's not like anyone would allow her to fall.

As I approached the Lorens' house I could already smell that Claire wasn't anywhere near the area. Luckily, though, I caught a strong whiff of my imprint. She would most likely know where her best friend had gone.

Passing through the almost silent house I had to step over many unconcious bodies. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at all the drunken bafoons. Perhaps I only said that because I knew that that would never be me.

By the time I had gotten within yards of Kenzie, I had already walked up two flights of stairs. The house was pretty big for being in the small town of La Push.

I stopped out of a cedar wood door with a slightly rusted brass handle. As I pressed my ear against the wood I could here Kenzie breathing slowly and softly in her slumber. I almost thought about not disturbing her before I heard an even slower breath not even inches from where Kenzie was. I bust in the door, ready to attack anyone who could have been posing as a threat to my girl.

**[What's next, you ask?] **

My lips pulled in as I took in the sight before me. There was Kenzie, who seemed to be nude from what I could see of her under the covers. Next to her was the Connor boy. His arm was tucked around her neck and her arm was draped around his waist.

"No," I muttered to myself. "No. No. No," I closed my eyes, wishing I was anywhere but there. How could Kenzie do this to herself? She had been so innocent... Maybe I had assumed too much. Maybe they hadn't done that... that thing.

It wasn't long before Kenzie opened her eyes and sat up in the bed, clutching a light blue sheet to her chest. Her eyes stayed on Connor momentarily, and she gasped when she caught sight of me across the room. "Gene!" She started saying loudly, but quieted to a whisper, "You're home," she beamed at me.


	9. Snow on a Sunny Spring Day

** [Well, this has been a long while. I am really sorry for blowing you guys off. I am sorry to inform you that I may not be updating every Monday like I had been originally doing. **

** This chapter is dedicated to my cousin Josh who died January 3rd, 2012.]**

My lips pulled in as I took in the sight before me. There was Kenzie, who seemed to be nude from what I could see of her under the covers. Next to her was the Connor boy. His arm was tucked around her neck and her arm was draped around his waist.

"No," I muttered to myself. "No. No. No," I closed my eyes, wishing I was anywhere but there. How could Kenzie do this to herself? She had been so innocent... Maybe I had assumed too much. Maybe they hadn't done that... that thing.

It wasn't long before Kenzie opened her eyes and sat up in the bed, clutching a light blue sheet to her chest. Her eyes stayed on Connor momentarily, and she gasped when she caught sight of me across the room. "Gene!" She started saying loudly, but quieted to a whisper, "You're home," she beamed at me.

Her dark brown eyes that I loved so much shined and I couldn't believe she was reacting that way to me... Why me?

"What did you do?" My voice cracked as I tried to remain as low and calm as possible.

Finally breaking eye contact with me, she rolled her eyes. "Trust me, not as much as you're thinking I did."

"Really?" I heaved. "Then where's your shirt? And his pants?" God, even thinking about her with him like that made me want to double over and barf all over the douche's room.

She bit her lips. "Well, there was some over the belt stuff..." she said, blushing while using the terms we had learned in sex education class last year. "But I still have my panties on," she smiled.

Then, as much as I loved seeing her bare skin, I removed my shirt and flung it at her. "Put that on."

She did. And damn did she look good in it. Slowly, she rose from the cushioned bed, pulling the hem of my t-shirt almost to her knees. I never realized how small she was until I saw her in my extra large shirt. "Why did you come here?" She asked me very quietly, taking a seat on the very edge of the bed.

My mind swirled back into rational thoughts. Reasons why I was there in some random kid's room with the girl of my dreams. "Claire," I blurted out, finally remembering, "Her work called this morning and said she didn't show up. Do you know where she is?"

Her eyes focused on the ground in thought and perhaps, confusion. "I'm not sure. She said she was going right home."

I became worried. Where was my little sister?

"Oh!" She opened her mouth and lightly tapped her forehead with the palm of her hand. "Last night she sat around with your cousins Tona and Kimi, maybe she drank too much and they brought her to their house?"

I pondered this for a few seconds. "Claire doesn't drink."

She smirked at me. "That's what you think. Trust me, your sister isn't as innocent at you think," her lips twisted evilly. "One time, she was so-"

I plugged my ears like a child was. "Uh, no thanks. I'd rather not here about her like that."

For some reason she blushed again. Not that I minded, it was so damn sexy. "You really care about her, don't you?"

"Of course I do. We're blood- and that runs deep." Not too mention how caring Claire was and how understanding and how much she helped out after Annie died...

"Good luck with finding her then," she yawned silently. "I'm sure she'll be fine. She's really smart."

And I knew that. I had always known that. It surprised me so much that she missed work... she had more responsibility than a president.

"Hey," I said coolly, "You want a ride home?" I asked her as I learned against the door way.

"Um, sure," she replied smoothly. She got on her feet and looked around the room for various articles of clothing. "Why don't you head down? I'm going to change into my dress. I'll be down in one second."

I glared over at Connor, then back at her. "Not with him in here."

She rolled her eyes and walked past me with clothing in tow. I followed her down the hall to a bathroom and she closed the door in front of my face. "Go get the car started, I'm cold," she told me loudly as she turned the lock.

At that point I had no other choice. I had to turn the heater on for her. As much as I wanted to be the one to warm her up, I didn't know if she would be comfortable with that.

My feet carried me away but my mind still lingered on how beautiful Kenzie was with the morning sun shining through the window. Her rosy cheeks against her creamy skin.

I climbed in Tyson's van and turned the heat all the way up. As I waited for Kenzie, I turned the radio station and tried to find some kind of rock. Soon enough, Led Zeppelin was playing out of the small speakers.

She arrived only minutes later. She hopped in the passenger side, still wearing my shirt but she had a dress on underneath. A very short dress. I could only fantasize about how the rest of her body looked enveloped in the red material.

"So, you just get on 94 and take the first exit to county road 9," she told me while buckling herself in.

"I know," I put the vehicle in drive and took off towards the highway. After I few seconds, I realized how creepy that must have been. "Because my sister's your best friend. Remember that one time, when I had to pick her up from your house?" I pulled the lie out of my ass. Kenzie couldn't know about my ability to find her sense from miles and miles away. Sometimes, when there was a vamp in the area, I ran by her house just to check up on her.

After my slip of the tongue the rest of the ride was, for the most part, silent. There was no doubt that she also felt the thicker than butter tension. Multiple times I had opened my mouth to say something, but no noise came from my throat. Instead, I just turned the radio up until we sat parked in her driveway.

"Thanks," she said, turning to look exactly at me. "It means a lot to me, Gene." Her voice broke on my name and she moved her right hand to the door handle.

"Wait," I touched the material of my shirt that draped over her shoulders. She looked the other way and I could immediately sense something was wrong. "Are you okay?"

Her sniffles gave me the answer as she attempted to get out of the van. The sound of her crying was enough to make me wish myself dead. As she strode away, I followed her. Right up to the front door of her small, read house. She leaned her back against the door frame and looked me right in the eye. Mine were mad with worry and hers, teared up.

"Can you please tell me what you're upset about?" I begged her bringing my hands to the sides of her face. She was shocked at first, most likely from the heat I was giving her, but then she relaxed.

"I just feel so stupid," she whispered, wiping the water from her cheeks with the back of her hands. As she let them fall to her side, I grabbed a hold of each, clasping urgently.

"You're not," I assured her. "You're the smartest person I know." Also the most beautiful and kind and forgiving.

She giggled a little then blushed. "I'm glad you're back."

We must have stood there minutes just staring at each other. This was interrupted by a crash from inside the house and a muffled shout. She pulled away and started to enter the home. "Gene, go. You have to find Claire, remember?" She widened her eyes and gestured for me to leave. I had a feeling there was more going on, but I started to leave anyways.

On the way to Aunt Emily's the conversation played again and again in my head. I rubbed the palm of my hand with my thumb, thinking about her soft, tiny hands enveloped in mine. I tried not to worry too much about the ruckus I had heard through the walls that had disrupted our rare connection. It was most likely nothing and I had to really focus on finding Claire.

When I pulled up I saw my aunt, bent over strapping a baby into a car seat. She saw me almost instantly and got out to greet me.

"Hey, Aunt Em," I said as she reached out for a hug.

She laughed and held my shoulders at arm's length. "Hi, it's nice to see you. You know, I have a nephew named Gene that looks just like you. Boy, do I wish he'd visit more," she kidded, pulling me in again.

"Sorry," I apologized sincerely. I really could not remember the last time I visited.

"That's okay," she folded her arms across her ches. "What can I do for you, honey?"

My mind refocused for the hundredth time this morning. "Did Claire come here with Tona and Kimi last night?"

She bit her lip in thought. "I'm not sure. They came back so late that I had already fallen asleep. I'd go check the girls' room."

With that, she took off in her car.

Approaching the house, I could already tell Claire hadn't been anywhere near the house. Figuring it wouldn't hurt to ask, I entered the house quietly.

I went inside and found Emily's husband Sam digging through the fridge. My nine year old cousin Susie was eating Frosted Flakes at the kitchen table.

"Hi, Genie!" She called to me enthusiastically then ran to me for a hug. Sam gave me a polite wave from across the room.

"Hey, Susie Q," I said, rubbing my hand across her head. "Can you go wake up Kimi for me?" She nodded and ran to the door that led to the basement.

Sam gave me a questioning glare.

"Claire didn't show up to work this morning and she was at the same party that Kimi and Tona were at last night. So I was hoping that they might know where she was."

Susie entered the kitchen again with Kimi trudging behind her, yawning and rubbing at her eyes. "This better be important," she said to her little sister before noticing that I was there. "Oh, hey Gene. What are you doing here?"

Once again I explained what Kenzie had told me. "I figure, since you guys were talking, if you know where she went."

She looked puzzled. "Claire was going to drive Derrick's truck to his house to drop him off and then go home."

"Why would she drive his truck?" I displayed my confusion to her.

She rolled her eyes and folded her arms, reminding me of my aunt. "He was hammered. Couldn't barely walk."

"What about Claire? Did she drink?" I asked, growing more and more concerned as our conversation went on.

"She was fine. Not one drink. Maybe she decided to stay over at his house," she shrugged and yawned again.

Oh, great. I had heard all to much about that kid's 'sleepovers'. Claire never believe the shit our brothers gave her about Derrick. She was never around while I heard him talk about his latest 'conquests' in the boy's locker room.

I found myself thanking Kimi and then rushing out of the house. My feet moved at an immortal speed to my truck, and I drove. A year ago Claire and I had went to a birthday party that was hosted at Derrick's home. He lived far out, all the way up in Neah Bay. The party hadn't been that great, but Claire had fun.

It took me forty minutes, speeding up the highway at eight-five miles per hour, to pull up to Derrick's house. Outside there was a dark blue truck that I recognized as Derrick's, along with a nice red Ferrari. It didn't surprise me; his father was a well-known lawyer.

I don't know what I expected to happen but I didn't expect to find Claire's scent in the truck but not anywhere near the house. I rang the doorbell twice anxiously.

The blue-gray door opened widely and Derrick stood a few feet in front of me. He was wearing only a pair of plaid boxers, had extremely messy hair, and looked like he was recovering from a serious hangover. "Hey," he said to me, disoriented.

"Where's Claire?" I got right to the point, not even bothering to greet him.

"I don't know, sorry," he rolled his eyes and began to close the door.

I held my arm out and kept the it ajar. "Look, I know that you left with her last night from the party. So how about you just tell me where my sister is and then I'll leave you alone, okay?" I started to get a really defensive tone.

"Read my lips, buddy. She. Is. Not. Here." He said with the attitude of a six year old.

"Then where is she?" I growled through my teeth. He was starting to really piss me off.

"Hell if I know. Probably stumbling around the trees somewhere," he told me with arrogance.

"Huh?" My eyes went into a glare. He had some serious explaining to do.

"Oh, fuck. She got pissed and got out of the car and went into the woods. I couldn't find her so I went home."

My mind swam and I pressed a hand to my forehead. "Why would she do that?"  
>"Don't know. Now please leave me the fuck alone, okay?" And with that the door slammed in my face.<p>

I counted out ten steps to the van. Five seconds of deciding on what to do. And then less than one less minute I was running through the forest, howling the alarm call. This was not good. As I called three times I continued to sniff everywhere, running bigger and bigger laps around his house. I couldn't even say his name any more- I couldn't even think it!

Kail and Tyson were the first to phase, most likely because they recognized my call. My angry thoughts were forced into their mind before they got a chance to ask what's wrong.

_He must be fucking lying, Gene, wait until I get a hold of that douche fag..._ Kail's vision went blood red, and see saw nothing but irrational rage.

_I couldn't smell any recent traces of her around his place. Only a faded scent from his truck. She isn't in there though._ I explained to him as Jacob's two sons came into our heads.

Within ten seconds they were both running in opposite directions, searching the forest. Through the next ten minutes, each and every wolf were all in the search. The only exception was Jacob, who went with his wife to visit her family in Canada. Also, Quil, who was still in Seattle with his own family.

Embry thought briefly about calling Quil and letting him know what was going on. As one of Quil's best friends, Embry worried about how he would take the news.

Immediately Leotie rejected the idea. _He's got to be with his father right now. We'll find Claire._

After a while, Tona started sharing with us his guilty thoughts _I don't know why I let her go home with him, I should have known better._

_ Stop, _Yuma ordered him, _Tona, Kail, go North. Tala and Howi; east, Tyson, Embry, and Skah; west..._ He went on and on, giving us all specific directions.

**[What's next?]**

My senses were everywhere, listening to every motion, smelling every grain of dirt in the ground... I knew I had to find my sister. I owed her a lot of things. Trees came and went through my vision constantly, my nostrils begging for the smell of Claire.

When Tyson finally picked up the faint scent of peaches, we all came towards him. I prayed to whatever god did or didn't exist that my baby sister was fine.

It wasn't for a good three and a half minutes before our hearts all sunk into our stomachs. Tyson came upon a huge piece of green material, covered in blood. _Claire's dress... _he said, reaffirming our sad thoughts.


	10. She's So Mean

Gene's POV:

My senses were everywhere, listening to every motion, smelling every grain of dirt in the ground... I knew I had to find my sister. I owed her a lot of things. Trees came and went through my vision constantly, my nostrils begging for the smell of Claire.

When Tyson finally picked up the faint scent of peaches, we all came towards him. I prayed to whatever god did or didn't exist that my baby sister was fine.

It wasn't for a good three and a half minutes before our hearts all sunk into our stomachs. Tyson came upon a huge piece of green material, covered in blood. _Claire's dress... _he said, reaffirming our sad thoughts.

_No, no, no, no, no... _Kail's mind flew through a million different scenarios. Each one ending with our little sister lying lifeless on the ground.

_Mountain lion,_ Yuma said the moment he ran into the scene. Then his mind went blank.

Leotie's quickly followed.

Yuma and his brother possessed the power to hide their thoughts from other members of the pack. This usually meant that they were discussing something before deciding what to do with the rest of the pack.

Kail finally got to the small area we were crowded in and wrenched in between to stare himself at the piece of cloth. _Bloodsucker! _He hollered as if it were a curse word.

A chorus of snarls and roars erupted, mostly from my brothers and Embry.

Embry's mind was quiet in comparison to everyone else's as he thought of his best friend Quil. How could he tell Quil what had happened? Would Quil ever be able to get over her death?

_She's not dead, _Leotie's finally spoke again.

We sat in silence as we waited for him to confirm how he knew this information.

_One of my family's friend was here. He wouldn't hurt Claire. _Yuma said with finality.

_How do you know? Leeches can't resist blood! _Kail yelled furiously.

_Yuma and I will call our family. He's most likely traveling with them. Until then I want everyone to go home._ Kail, we'll call as soon as we know that everything went well with Claire. Everyone sighed with relief as our leader spoke. _Please, just go home and get some rest. _

Kail was the least happiest with our sentence. But there was nothing he or any else of us to do. We had to listen to our alpha.

I thanked everyone for coming out and ran home with my brothers. We phased back and climbed through Tyson's window, in hopes of not waking Eric or Holli. I dressed in denim shorts and an old Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt. We shuffled into the living room.

"I don't trust any of them," Tyson whispered, being the first the actually open his mouth while we sat by the telephone.

Our father came out of his room with his hair disheveled and his face full of worry. "Where's Claire?"

Before anyone could explain, the phone came to life. My hand shook as I picked up the receiver.

"Hello?" I tried my best to keep my voice from cracking.

"Gene, it's Leotie," the tone of his voice let on no clue as to what I should expect.

My brothers and father all hovered over me as I took a seat on the couch.

"Hey, what's up?" I tried to sound as casual as possible, though each second was never ending torture.

"Claire's not dead, Gene. Depending on what your definition of dead is.."

My mouth hung open and I couldn't focus on anything. I sprung up from the couch and started pacing. "Is she okay?"

He took a deep breath and continued. "Leon, a friend of my Uncle Jasper's, found her while he was out hunting before they left to return home to Canada. He found her pinned under a mountain lion. He brought her to Carlisle, in hopes of healing her. But by then she had already lost too much blood. The decision was made to bite her so she would survive."

My head started making sloshing noises and I couldn't really comprehend anything he said after that. I just kept muttering "Yep" and "Uh-huh" until I heard the other side of the line go dead.

The next five minutes was hell as I tried to translate what Leotie told me into words my family would understand. Afterwords, my father sat with his head down against his knees. Kail stood up and punched one of the walls, causing a hole. Tyson grabbed him and they held each other as they tried to hold in tears.

I couldn't really recall anything about how I was positioned. Maybe I was up on my feet again or laying on the ground. My mind was too disoriented to even notice Holli walk out from her room. She stood with her back against the door as she watched us. I couldn't think o f anything to say to her. Finally she ran into Kail's arms and he fell onto his knees.

_Vampire_, I tried telling myself, _Claire is a vampire._ But the other part of my head wouldn't hear it. It kept repeating that that was impossible. Your lying. Claire's going to be here in just a few moments. She going to walk through that door and prove us all wrong. That moment never came though.

So I did what I was best at. I ran.

My legs felt like they were going to disconnect from my body as I was running through the dense forestland. I had never run this fast in human form before. I wasn't paying any attention as to what way I was heading, but I knew where my destination would be.

As I crossed into her yard I stared into the sky, just now noticing the rain. It didn't keep my attention for too long.

I froze. Something that I had never heard before pounded into my ears. Sniffles, coughing, sobbing, crying, screaming all at once. And there was only one person I knew that could show such emotion.

Kenzie ran out of her house and into the shelter of her brother's car. I watched as she climbed in hurriedly. Then she disappeared from my sight. I sprinted to her, not letting another moment pass by before my arms were around her.

I sat in the driver's seat, cradling this lovely soul in my arms. She didn't seemed surprised to see me at all. In fact, she was staring at me in wonder. I couldn't help but think that she knew something was wrong.

"What's happening?" She asked me in a small voice, not taking her eyes off mine.

Swallowing nervously, I brought her face closer to mine. "Nothing, sweetheart." That wouldn't be the last time I'd ever call her that.

"Don't lie to me Gene. Not anymore," she whispered before digging her head into the crook of my neck.

I looked down at her cautiously, never in my life had I been more confused. What did she know? And how did she know it?

"Let's go." Kenzie surprised me suddenly by tugging at my shirt and opening up the driver's door. She jumped off my lap and landed swiftly on her two feet. "I don't want anyone to see us, come on," she reached for my hand and I let her grab it willingly. The rain didn't slow her down as she dragged me through her yard and off into the dense forest behind her house. She never loosened her grip or slowed down. It shouldn't have been so shocking to me, I knew exactly how stubborn this girl was.

Finally we broke through a clearing. One I had often passed whenever I was patrolling in this area. The wild grass came up to our knees. She took a seat and I joined her on the moist ground. The wetness didn't seem to bother my Kenzie at all. Her true self never ceased to amaze me.

She opened her hazel eyes at me and didn't turn away. The look she was giving me screamed something, but I didn't know what?

"Is everything okay?" I asked after a few moments of her staring passed.

She groaned. "Stop asking if I'm okay. I'm fine, trust me. It's you I'm worried about, Gene."

My eyes questioned hers. "Why are you worried about me?"

"Gene, this isn't normal. At all." She gestured back and forth between herself and I.

"Uh," I knitted my brows together, "What do you mean?"

She rolled her eyes and huffed in the cutest, most non-threatening way possible. "You. And me. Look, I've never felt this way about a guy, Gene. For most guys it's just one fling and that's it. Even if we do have feelings for each other afterwords it doesn't feel anything like this."

"Oh, yeah? And how exactly does 'this' feel?" I challenged her to say more.

She picked her right hand up and rubbed at her temple. She bit her bottom lip and remained quiet for a minute or so. Finally she looked up at me. "Good. I mean, like, really good. Scary good, in fact," she started to smile but then forced it off her face, "It's as if you and I are connected. You know exactly how I'm feeling at an exact moment. And recently, I can feel you too. Even when you're miles away. Like we have walkie-talkies for our souls, or some weird shit."

Feeling good, for the first time in days, I grabbed a hold of her hand that she had her face resting on. "McKenzie Elizabeth Nahmin, I have a lot to tell you." I dropped my head to her hand and lightly kissed it. Her blush stirred up something inside me.

I figured the best way to start was from the beginning. The beginning of this story happened hundreds of years ago, in a place very close to home.

She didn't seem too surprised at first. Everyone who grew up on the res knew the legends. Only a select few knew that they weren't legends at all. When I got to the part about Samuel Uley being the first to transform, the color drained from her face. She knew exactly where I was going with that story. Or, at least, she thought she did.

"T-t-transform? Into what?" She shrunk away from me. I knew the rest of this was only going to get harder.

"Wolves," I told her. "Sam became one just like his grandfather, Levi Uley.

Her breathing became shallower. "But Levi wasn't really a wolf, Gene, it's just a story. Him and his friends just ran around in wolf hides carrying spears. They weren't werewolves."

I didn't know how to tell her she was wrong. "Well, technically, we aren't werewolves. We're shape shifters. It just happens that the spirit animal in Quiluete is a wolf."

"We?" Her eyes opened wide. "What do you mean, Gene? You're not a-"

A sigh went through me. "I am. Along with my brothers, Quil, my cousin Tona, the Clearwater boys, the Lahote girls, Skah Cameron, Jacob Black and his sons, Embry Call..." I rolled my eyes up, trying hard not to miss any one of the present pack members.

She placed her hand over her mouth. I reached out to grab her but she stood up and took three steps away from me. I stood up as well and looked at her with worry. After a few minutes I put my hand towards her again, hoping she would hold it.

Instead she screamed. "Get away from me!" She shrieked, turning to face away from me. Her breathing started to hitch and she started to sob. It was then that the rain stopped.

"Kenzie..." I begged of her from where I was standing, "Please believe me. I would never tell you a lie."

She faced me again, her expression displaying a mixture between despair and totally pissed off. "I ask you to explain what our relationship is and instead you serve me up a fresh pot of bullshit story about how you're some kind of wolf-shape-shifter who just runs around the forest with all the other wolf-shape-shifters. What kind of idiot do you think I am?"

I smirked. "A stubborn one."

A half smile appeared on er face for half a second, and then it was gone. She crossed her arms and stared at me harshly. "So, tell me more about this 'shape shifting' thing, Gene." The air quotes she used made my heart that much heavier.

An idea came to mind. "Why don't I just show you?" I pulled my t-shirt over my head.

She tried to hide her pleasure with a face of disgust. "What, are you just going to get naked and start howling or something right now?"

I laughed at the image she created. "Pretty much." I removed my shorts shamelessly. She covered her eyes with her right hand.

I slowly walked towards her and cradled her hand in mine. "Just watch. And don't come too close, okay?"

Walking towards the middle of the clearing, away from her, I started to shake. Not even three seconds later my skin exploded and I was a furry creature on all fours. I looked up carefully at Kenzie.

Her mouth gaped open. "Oh my god," I heard her say under her breath. She brought a hand up to her chest and forced herself to take a few deep breaths. "Holy fucking shit!" She yelled in wonder. "You weren't kidding, were you Gene?"

My head shook back and forth.

She laughed at that. "You're a werewolf. Oh my god... Who all knows about this?"

It was then that I realized that I was communicating with more than one person.

_Gene,_ my brother Kail's voice intruded into my head, _What are you doing? Where are you?_

The thoughts and images of the last ten to fifteen minutes traveled from my head to his.

_Is everything okay, Kail? _Until this minute I had forgotten entirely about the whole Claire thing. My heart wrenched itself inside my chest.

_No, of course it's fucking not. Claire's a fucking vampire and you fucking ran out on us and now you're fucking showing fucking Kenzie that you're a fucking wolf, you fucking mother fucker!_ I had seriously heard the word fuck way too many times today.

_I'm sorry, Kail. This is something I have to do. Besides Kenzie deserves to know about what happened to Claire. _

I could feel his level of anger rising. _Why does she have to know? Why does anyone have to know? She's dead, Gene. _

A growl escaped from my throat. _She's not dead. My sister is not dead. _

_ So, what now? Are you just going to hang out around her even though she's a filthy bloodsucker!?_

That was it. He seriously crossed the line. _She's your sister, too, Kail. She doesn't deserved to be talked about that way. I am not going to love her any less for something that was entirely not her fault. _And with that I phased back. I immediately pulled my shorts back on. _The nerve of that guy,_ I thought to myself.

"Who were you talking to?" Kenzie again pulled me from my depressed mind and into a world that was filled with happiness.

I gave her an odd look. "How did you know I was talking to some one?"

She shrugged. "I-I don't know. It just seemed like you were and I kept getting this feeling that some one was making you upset," she clutched her head. "I'm so confused, Gene."

After that I began to tell her all about being part of the Quiluete pack. From being able to read all of my pack brother's minds to switching off patrolling nights around La Push. She sat beside me, looking at me with an intrigued face.

"Wow. This is just- so... wow," her loss of words was a relief to me. And I knew there was one more part to tell her about.

So I started at the beginning. I went as far back as I knew about vampires. And for me that was Carlisle Cullen. After him I found myself trying to explain each member of the Cullen family. Eventually things led to Jacob.

"Why would Jacob marry Edward's daughter? Aren't vampires and werewolves enemies?" She asked me, genuinely confused.

"Jacob imprinted on Nessie," I said quickly. Hoping maybe she wouldn't catch the word and move on. "And they had four children, Yuma, Leot-"

With no such luck, she stopped me suddenly. "What does 'imprinted' mean?"

So here it was. The moment sat in front of me, it was now that either Kenzie would run into my arms and we would live happily ever after. Then there was also the option of her running away screaming, trying to check me into a psych ward. "Imprinting is a bond that occurs between a wolf and his soul mate. It's like, your life can be totally normal one day, and then you run into them and your entire world flip flops. Everything thing regular in life becomes strange. And all the strange things become regular." She looked at me with the most curious look on her face. I could tell I wasn't exactly explaining things with sense. "When you meet your imprint, you fall in love almost instantly. Well, kind of... Your life all comes together and you're happy and freaked out and in love and everything is just good. Does that make any sense?"

Her face looked like it had lit up entirely. "Yes, it does, Gene. That's exactly how it felt when I met you and so has every day since."

I let out a breath that I had been holding in for quite some time. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders in affection. "I love you Kenzie, and I always will." The word sprung out of my mouth, and they felt so good.

She laughed beautifully and placed her head near my chest. "I love you too Gene."

My heart pounded and she giggled even more. I would have been laughing along side her if the back of my head wasn't continuously screaming, "CLAIRE!"

"T-there's something else I need to tell you," I whispered towards her ear.

She took her head from my chest to stare at me. "What else could there possibly be?" She asked, still seeming to be swimming in bliss.

"Claire's a vampire." Whoa. Where did that come from?

She pulled herself out of my arms in shock. "What?!"

My arms abnormally tingled in her absence. "Last night one of the Cullen's found her being attacked by a mountain lion. She lost too much blood, so they had to bite her." The words put a taste in my mouth that stung so bad.

The look on her face was horrified. She started sobbing and I moved in to wrap my arms around her.

"Shh, it's okay," I whispered, hiding my face so she wouldn't see the few tears I let slip.

"Noooo," she whimpered, "No Gene. Oh my god, Claire." She repeated those words over and over again for an eternity.

When her sobbing turned to sniffles I pulled away slightly to look at her face. Her eyes were red and the frown she wore was heartbreaking. Unexpectedly, she pulled my face into hers, folding her hands behind my neck. Our lips reached each other's and my eyes sprung open. She didn't let go. She continued to turn her lips against mine. I finally let my eyes slowly shut. My head felt like it was spinning. I pressed my hands into her back and lifted her against me so we were eye level. How could today be both the best and worst day of my life?

Thirty five seconds passed before she pulled her head back, her eyes full of something I had never seen before. Something I can still not describe. Her arms dropped and she brought them to the hem of her shirt. She started tugging it up ever so slowly.

"No," I grabbed her hands into one of mine. As much as I wanted for her to be naked on top of me, now wasn't exactly the time. "Not here sweetheart."

She smiled and some how managed to enchant my face to hers again.

Never there was a day in my life that was as bitter sweet as that one.


	11. Gimme Shelter

On Monday things went back to normal. Well, as normal as my life was going to be for a while. Dr. Cullen had given us a call on Sunday to let us know that Claire's transformation was going well. And that he would give us another call when she woke up. He said that after a person is bitten, it can take up to three or four days of a sleep-like state before the venom has spread everywhere in her body. But even after she awakes, he said we probably wouldn't be able to see her for a while. I knew as well as everyone else that newborn vampires were the strongest and most insane creatures in the world. They are automatically overcome with the hunger for blood. It can up to years for their thirst to die down.

In my mind I still couldn't picture Claire sucking blood out of anything. And there was a part of me that wanted to run up the Cullen's house in Canada and be there with her through everything. But there was still things I needed to take care of in La Push. Kenzie was my main priority on that list.

After I told her about my supernatural world, we had barely spent a moment apart. Both nights since she had been sleeping at my house. She slept in Claire's bed, keeping poor Holli company. Claire had very much been like a mother to Holli, since her mother died when she was only a baby.

I had woken up at five o'clock this morning. I knew that some one had to be up to make lunches. I slipped out of my room quietly and into the kitchen. At the table was my father, his head resting over his arms on the table. He was still in his clothes from the night before.

"Dad," I went up to him and shook his shoulder. "Wake up."

"Huh?" He sat up quickly and confused. "Oh, Gene," he sighed once realizing where he was. "I couldn't fall asleep last night, so I just thought-"

Walking over to the coffee machine, I said, "It's fine dad. But you'd better change fast so you're not late to work."

He looked at his watch hurriedly and then walked out of the kitchen to his bedroom.

I switched on the coffee machine and opened the fridge. I tried hard to remember what kind of stuff Claire would pack for everyone's lunches.

Five minutes later my dad came out of his room, with fresh clothes on and trying to pat his hair into place. I slipped a mug into his hand. "Have a good day, dad."

The sides of his mouth lifted and he sighed. "Thanks Gene. I really appreciate it. I'll see you tonight." And with that he rushed out of the door and into his car.

In front of me were five paper bags, three apples, a banana, a pitched of grape kool-aid, teddy grahams, bread, peanut butter, jelly, and sandwich meat.

I gave my two older brother's each two ham sandwiches on white bread, two apples, and two bottles of water. Then in Eric's and Holli's I made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Holli got the the teddy grahams and Eric got the apple. Just as I was about to start making my own bag, a door slammed. No doubt it was Tyson. He couldn't be quiet even if his life depended on it.

Not long after that the house was alive with my four siblings. Holli sat in front of the television watching some stupid kid's show. Kail was helping Eric with his algebra. And Tyson was taking a shower.

I decided it was a perfect time to wake up Kenzie. I had been beginning to notice that she was a very deep sleeper. I knocked on the door before entering but there was no response. When I opened the door I couldn't help but stare at the sleeping beauty lying so peacefully. Though I wish I didn't have to disturb her, it had to be done. I got on my knees in front of the bed. "Kenzie, sweetheart. Wake up."

Her eyes fluttered and she breathed in and out deeply. "Morning, Gene," she said, sitting up and stretching. She was wearing my Van Halen t-shirt and nothing else.

"Have good dreams?" I asked her as I helped her out of bed.

"Mmhmm," she yawned. "Is it okay if I take a shower?"

I froze, "Uh, sure. J-just be quick because we're leaving in about thirty minutes." I kissed her lips lightly and then walked out of my room. I had to get out quick before I started imagining her naked. In my shower. It was all too much for me to handle.

When I entered the living room, Holli was looking into her lunch bag. "Gene, I'm allergic to jelly," she said.

I almost smacked my head at my own stupidity. How could I have forgotten? I took the sandwich from her hands and promised to make her one with just peanut butter. Tyson then proceeded to take it from my hands and eat it in three bites. "Thanks brother," he said with a stupid smirk on his face.

Thirty five minutes later I was rushing out of the door, my back pack in one hand and the van keys in the other. I threw them at the back of Ty's head. "Forgot the keys, stupid," I laughed as he turned to face me and they smacked him right in his face.

Kail threw open the back doors of the van and Eric and Holli crawled in. Just then Kenzie walked out of the house, her hair still damp from the shower. "You guys all ride back there?" She asked me, struggling to wring the rest of the water out of her hair.

I opened up the passenger side door. "Not you, my lovely," I said smoothly before she climbed in. Tyson found my chivalry hysterical. I knew Kenzie liked that kind of thing though.

One last time, I ran up to the house and locked the door. Then, I climbed in the back with my siblings. I sat beside Eric, who was still finishing him his homework. "Need any help buddy?" I asked him.

"No," he stared at his paper, "I think I'm getting it."

I messed up his hair with my hands and then laid down. Might as well get some rest while I could. The last two nights I was sure my family hadn't gotten more than four hours of sleep. We didn't function well without Claire.

Eventually we arrived at the high school. As I opened up the hatch door I felt three drops of rain fall on to my hand. I looked up at the dark sky and sighed. For some reason rain reminded me of my sister.

I stepped out and walked over to Kenzie. She was stalling in the passenger seat with the door open. I laughed an offered her my hand.

She shook her head. Kenzie didn't like storms. As long as I had known her, she had been scared of them. "Come on," I tugged on her arm lightly. "I'll protect you."

Her face lit up and she jumped out of the seat. I slammed the door behind her and we bee-lined for the front entrance. She put her arm through mine and held to me tightly, even after we escaped the rain.

The staring started as soon as we entered a hallway full of lockers. Both girls and guys stopped whatever they were doing to hang their jaws and just stare. Kenzie didn't care though, she just smiled brightly and walked with a little more bounce in her step.

I walked her to her first class, which was Junior Lit. Reluctant to let her go, I gave her a peck on the cheek. She blushed, releasing her grip on my arm. "See you later," she waved as she walked into the class room.

After our departure I walked to the other side of the school for my class. Right now I was taking Quiluete Language. It was a new program at our school this year, and everyone in the pack who was still in school that could take it, was taking it. Besides the pack, there were only three other people taking it and they were Sarabelle, William, and Kimi, who were technically part wolf because of their fathers Jacob Black and Samuel Uley.

I walked in and smiled at all the familiar faces. Sarabelle was sitting on Tyson's lap. Skah and Kimi had their desks pushed together and were talking quietly. Howi, Dena, and Kail were throwing a baseball around the room. I took a seat next to my cousin Tona. He was one of my best friends in the pack. He looked up at me with a sullen face.

"What's wrong, man?" I asked him, playing jabbing an elbow into his stomach.

He shook his head. "It was all my fault, Gene." He sounded like he was ready to vomit.

"What?" Oh. "You mean Claire? No, man, it wasn't any one's fault." Except for... God, even now I still couldn't say his name, not even in my head.

He took a shallow breath. "No, you don't understand," his eyes narrowed, "I let her go off with him at the party. She said that she was going to drive, so I just let her go. And he... he-"

"Ton, it's fine man. There was no way for you to have known to stop her." I felt myself too becoming sick thinking about Claire and... that guy.

Before I could say anything else, the teacher walked in.

Kail waited for him to turn around before chucking it at his head.

But before the ball could hit him, the teacher turned around and caught it in his fist.

"Still got it," Paul Lahote said as he placed the ball inside his top desk drawer.

"Aw, come on dad," complained Dena, "You're no fun."

Paul just laughed. "That's my job, boys. And ladies," he added as an afterthought.

Paul Lahote had graduated high school a long while back and went to Washington State for teaching. After a few years, he got his degree and then married his wife Rachel. They had two kids, Dena and Tala. It wasn't long after that that he stopped phasing. For a while Paul had been jumping around the area doing substitute teaching jobs, but finally landed a full time position at La Push High when this class was created.

"Sarabelle!" Paul hollered. "What would your father think of this?" He gestured towards hee sitting on top of Ty's lap.

Instead of being upset, Sara just giggled and kissed Tyson on the lips. It was almost vomit worthy how much she was using my brother. She slid off of him and into the seat beside him. He coughed and patted down his hair. The stupid grin on his face didn't leave for the entire class.

After Paul dismissed us I hurried back to Kenzie's classroom. She walked out and grabbed my hand. "Do you know which class I have next?" She asked, her lips twisting to the side.

"US history," I reported back to her naturally.

She raised her eyebrows and dropped her jaw. "Geez, Gene, what a stalker," she said playfully as she pretended to smack my shoulder.

After I dropped her off, my stomach clenched in dread. My next class was chemistry. Which usually wasn't so bad, since it was the only class I had with Claire. But who was going to help me understand this stupid shit? Certainly not the teacher. No matter how many time Mrs. Grey repeated the information, I just couldn't register it. Claire was just way better at explaining it. Maybe she should have been a teacher.

The next seventy minutes were hell as I was forced to sit behind Derrick and some chick. He just didn't have a way of being subtle, did he? If not for Kenzie, I would have decked him right there and then, but I couldn't afford to get suspended.

Mrs. Grey let us out of class two minutes after the bell rang so I half-ran down the hall to get back to Kenzie's history classroom. By the time I got there, though, the room was empty. I headed towards her locker. Sure enough, she was standing in front of her locker, filing through some papers. Before I could approach her, I saw Connor come up from behind her. The anger he filled me with locked me into place.

"Hey, Kenz," he said, shoving his shoulder against the locker next to hers. God, what a stupid nick name.

She looked down. "Oh, hey, Connor." She shoved a folder in her locker and slammed it shut. "See you later," she mumbled, turning away.

"Come on, baby, we gotta talk," he asserted himself, going as far as pulling her shoulder back.

Though it didn't look like it harmed her, that didn't stop me from charging over to the boy. I grabbed his arm and turned him to face me. "Leave her alone, okay?" My eyes glared into his, hoping he would get the message.

He didn't seem to as he rolled his eyes and snorted. "Whatever man, she may be going out with you, but guess who fucked her the night of the dance?"

I fumed as I gripped tighter on the collar of his shirt. "You better keep your mouth closed, boy, before I do something we'll both regret."

"Hey, Young!" I heard from behind me, and I turned my head to see Derrick running towards us. Before I could turn back, Connor's fist had already collided with my jaw. I heard Kenzie gasp.

Usually a punch from a human wouldn't do a thing to me, but it had me so off guard that I fell flat on my back. Before I could get up both guys had me pinned down.

"Connor!" Kenzie screamed from somewhere out of my site. "Get off of him, you ass! Leave him alone!" I heard her squeal at the same time I heard a thud.

"Kenzie," I gasped, since Connor had moved his hands up to around my throat.

Before I could buck both boys off of me, they were gone. Just like that. I opened my eyes to see Tona leaning over me. Besides him, on her knees, was Kenzie. She held my hand to her face.

I gave her a gentle look and then sat up. Across the hallway I saw a duel between Connor and Derek and Tyson and Kail. You can guess who was winning.

"This is for Claire!" I heard Kail scream repeatedly as he continued to sock Derrick in the face.

Not ten seconds later and Paul was there, trying to pry the boys off of each other. Tyson seemed to give up on Connor easily, but Kail was a challenge, his hands trapping Derek's neck to a wall. "Let it go, Kail!" Paul screamed as he pull Kail's arms behind his back. I could hear him whisper, "It isn't worth it. At least, not right now."

I looked back over at Kenzie, whose right eye was shining black and blue. I reached my right head softly to her face. "You okay, sweetheart?"

She nodded and helped me off the floor. Tona glanced at us, "You guys better get out of here before the principal shows up," and he darted off.

We took his advice and we headed towards algebra. The only class we had together this semester. Most days I despised it, but it was nice today. I wanted to make sure that Kenzie would remain okay. The bruise around her eye made me shudder in disgust. It must have been Derrick who had punched her. And, oh, would he be getting it later. I knew my brothers well enough to know that they weren't finished with him yet.

There was a tap on my shoulder. Turning around to see who it was, I saw Jane Rovsky. A girl that hasn't ever said a word to me in my entire life, yet was in most of my classes. She hung around with the in crowd.

"Gene," she tapped her pencil on her desk. "Are you okay? I heard what happened... to Claire," she whispered the last part as if it were some sort of secret.

I didn't really know how to respond to that so I just said, "Yeah."

"Did she really get attacked by a mountain lion?" She questioned, and I could tell she was dying for any sort of juicy gossip. I noticed a few people around stopping their conversations to listen better.

"Um, yeah." I said shortly.

She gasped, as if it were the first time she heard it. "Oh my god! Is she okay?"

Before I could mutter up some half assed response, Kenzie answered from the desk beside me. "What do you think, Jane? And I know that you know that Claire was airlifted to a hospital in LA for reconstructive surgery, so stop bothering Gene, okay?" She finished off with the attitude that usually scared me, but this time made me laugh. I turned around again to face the front of the class room and quickly made eye contact with Kenz. I congratulated her with a smile.

* * *

>Sometimes, the new Kenzie wasn't so bad after all.<p><p>

After school I met up with Kenz at her locker and began to walk her out to the school parking lot. By some miracle it had stopped raining and the sun beat down warm on our faces. I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it softly. All my mind had been saying since that incident with Jane was, _She's Mine. She's finally mine._ For a long time I had wondered what horrible God could have ever

allowed people to imprint. It caused nothing but pain and misfortune. These last couple days had been different though, and I could see exactly what Sam and Quil and Jacob and others had been seeing for a decade now. True and unconditional love. There really wasn't another way anyone could ever want to be.

My fantasies of Kenzie and mine's future wedding was ruined when I met up with my brothers aby Ty's van.

"Hey, nice shiner," Kail said, sitting in the back, smoking on a cigarette.

I looked at Kenzie to see her reaction, and she started to laugh. "You should've seen the other guy," she stated before going to climb in on the passenger's side.

Giving Kail a questioning look, I asked, "Hey, when did you start smoking?" I almost should have gone up to him and ripped the dirty piece of shit right out of his mouth.

Kail chuckled darkly. "Ever since I beat the shit out of a couple smokers," he grinned wide with the cig hanging out of his mouth. Was it bad that I knew which two smokers he was talking about? I tried to stop myself from grinning as I crawled into the back of the van. Kail stomped out his cigarette, then climbed in shutting the door.

Tyson started the old chugger and off we went to pick up Holli and Eric. Kail started arguing with Ty about who packed the best punch in this so called fight they had after Paul told them to take it outside.

I scooted up closer to Kenzie and leaned over to kiss her cheek. She giggled and turned her head so that our lips would meet. Shocked as I was, I couldn't help but palm her face into my hands and subside into bliss.

That was surely enough to get my brothers to quit, and instead of arguing about punching, they started going at it about which couple was grosser. Kenzie and I or Ty and Sarabelle. I had to agree with the latter.

When we got home Kenzie and I went to go have a seat on the couch and the phone rang. My hand reached out for it but Tyson had already grabbed the other line in the kitchen. I tried to act normal and watch some game show but secretly I was listening to Ty's side of the conversation.

"Oh, hi Chief Swan." For what reason would Bella Cullen's father be calling us? "No, he's not home right now. Whatever you called to tell him, you can talk to me about. Sure. Oh, wow." There was a long pause. "No, that makes perfect sense. All right, we'll be sure to do that. Thanks chief." I heard the phone drop on the counter. What the hell could they have been talking about?

After that Tyson called a family meeting. We all gathered around the kitchen table, Kenzie included, as he told us the news. Chief Swan, the head of the Fork's police department had called to clue us in about what Claire's supposed story was. Charlie Swan didn't know everything about the mystical world of vampires and werewolves, but he knew enough to know that it was to be kept top secret.

"Tomorrow the town's newspaper is running a headline saying that a seventeen year old Makah girl was attacked by a mountain lion in the woods, they brought her in a helicopter to an emergency hospital near LA and she didn't survive some major necessary procedure." At this point we all knew exactly who he was talking about. I slipped my arm around Eric's shoulders as Kenzie curled to my other side. "It's also going to say that Claire's family is having a very private funeral at their home on Friday. So he suggests that we pull out of school and work for a week for mourning purposes and then on the day of the funeral, we should all stay home so as to not raise any suspicion. Everyone got that?" He checked in while most of us solemnly nodded our heads.

Holli started wailing and Kail picked her up and brought her to her bedroom for a nap. After that, the house was in complete silence, except for that stupid game show still broadcasting loudly from the television in the living room.

Not long after the family meeting, Kenzie's mom called and commanded her to come home for the night. So after I dropped her off, I was literally and drastically alone.


	12. Sail

Once again, at six o'clock we all sat around the table eating the sub par spaghetti noodles I had prepared.

"Do you expect us to eat with our fingers?" Kail laughed at me, getting up to grab silverware for everyone. He grabbed five forks and knives and passed them around.

Holli made a disgusted face when she lifted the noodles off of her plate. "Am I supposed to eat this?" She asked, plopping it back down.

I groaned. "Like you could do any better."

"Claire's a way better cook than you, Genie," she snickered at my girlish nickname and Kail gave her a high five from across the table. I just glared at him while shoving a good amount of spaghetti in my mouth to prevent me from saying something I'd regret.

Eric slurped a noodle into his mouth. "I think it tastes fine," he said, glancing over at his little sister, and then back to smiling at me.

I knew there was a reason for me wanting to be at home. Though Claire was gone, and Kenzie miles away, I always had Eric to count on at home.

By six thirty the table was empty. Kail and Holli were in the living room fighting over the remote, Eric was sitting on the floor working on homework, and Tyson who was leaning against the counter, texting Sarabelle.

"Any luck?" I asked him after his phone made a loud beeping noise to indicate that he had gotten a text.

His eyes flicked over the screen and he sighed. "Sort of. She wants me to come over to her house, but Jake's in town, so there is no way I'm going there."

I didn't blame him. Jacob was our pack's official alpha, but since he was gone in Canada most of the time, his two sons co-ran the pack. He was pretty much a hard ass if anyone was there to mess around with his family, even his vampire relatives.

_Vampire,_ I shivered. _Claire's one now._

I had no other option other than to force the thought from my mind and sit down with my siblings in the living room. Holli had won the battle of the remote, so we were watching some sort of show on the Disney channel. But Kail wasn't mad, he sat with her on his lap and tried to look interested. It reminded me of the way Quil was with Claire when she was younger.

As nine rolled around, I helped Eric finish his math homework, and then tucked him in for the night. Eric asked me to stay for the night, but I had my patrolling duties. I kissed him on the forehead and exited our bedroom silently.

I threw my shirt over the couch and began to head outside. I saw my father's headlights pull in just as I entered the woods, already phased.

Immediately my mind was invaded with the thoughts of my pack brothers.

_And sister, _Tala reminded me.

_How's everyone holding up, Gene?_ Tona asked with sincerity.

_Better, _I thought of how this afternoon had been almost normal.

Skah interrupted our conversation, _Hey, Embry told me to tell you that Quil is coming back to town tomorrow. Him and Jake are going to be at his house to give him the news. _

I shuddered, thinking of the moment when either Embry or Jacob would be forced to tell him what happened to Claire a few nights ago. I didn't pity either of them.

Nearly an hour later, I went to do a couple laps around the perimeter near Kenzie's house. Sometimes if I looked hard enough, I could see the window to her room through the layers of trees. Though usually I would just keep running, tonight was different.

I heard whispering from away. "Gene!" the voice called to me.

It was Kenzie, of course. I stopped in my tracks and saw my sweetheart leaning out of her bedroom window, her hands cupped around her mouth. "Gene! Can you hear me?"

I phased back quickly, threw my shorts on, and began a fast jog over to her yard. Warily I walked across the lawn and up to her at the window in the front of her house. She reached her hands out on to my shoulders. "I knew you were around. What are you doing?"

She was just as beautiful at this time of night as any other. Though she had removed her make up and was wearing baggy clothing, she was equally stunning. Trying not to smile like an idiot, I told her, "It's my night to patrol. I thought that I'd just run around your house to check up on you."

I looked past her to her bedroom. For some reason, I always expected her room to be filled with pink and purple fuzzy pillows, make up laying around everywhere, and some male celebrity's poster on her walls. But it was nothing like I'd imagined. Kenzie's favorite color was green, and you could tell just by looking at her room. She had a large tree mural on the wall behind her queen sized bed, and a desk with books and pens lying around on it.

"Nerd," I laughed at her, playfully, gesturing towards what looked like a unorganized office space.

She hit my arm and twisted her lips up to the right side of her face. "So, you going to come in or what?"

I'm sure that she thought my eyes were going to pop out of my eye at the reaction I gave to her question. "Into your room?"

She raised her eyebrows and turned away from the window. "Yeah. I mean, I'm just so lonely." She sat down on her bed gracefully and patted the spot next to her.

_That's more like her,_ I thought to myself. Kenzie was a book nerd, but she sure knew how to make a man yearn for her. I groaned before hoisting myself through her window.

"Do your parents care?" I asked, still standing across the room from her bed.

She shook her head. "They went to sleep a while ago. As long as we're quiet... my bed doesn't squeak." She bounced herself a few times and there was no noise.

Nervously I scratched the back of my neck. "I don't know..." It's not that I didn't want to mess around with her. But, she was my imprint and I was not going to screw it up by moving too fast.

"Gene, you shy boy," she giggled, crossing over to where I was. She put her tiny hands into mine and started to take backwards steps. Entranced by her eyes, I began to fall in step with her. Before I knew what I was doing, we were sitting side by side on her bed.

Not that that position lasted long. She moved her hands up to my shoulders and swung herself over my lap, leaving her lips on mere millimeters from mine.

What happened next was so fast, I barely processed anything except for the placement of her fingers and lips. "Okay," I said finally, as she started to push me down all the way onto her bed. "We should stop."

"Why?" she asked, between kisses on my neck, "What's so wrong with this?"

"N-nothing," I lied. "I just have to get back to my pack. They are going to be pissed."

She met me with her hazel eyes and an understanding look. She stood up and I stood with her. We gazed in each others eyes for a while, before she broke the contact. "What time should I be over at your house tomorrow?"

Still not fully recovered over what had happened, it took me a few seconds to understand her question. "I'm not going to school tomorrow, remember?"

She nodded. "I know. I told my mother the cover story about Claire. She says it's okay if I pull out of school for the rest of the week, and just help you guys with funeral arrangements and stuff."

"Oh." I knew there was a reason why I liked Kenzie's mother. "Don't come over. I'll come and pick you up. Seven AM sharp, okay?"

She smiled and reached up on her tip toes to give me a quick peck on the lips. As much as I wanted, in that moment, to slam her down onto the bed and give her everything she deserved, I started walking towards the window. "Get some sleep," I told her, as I climbed out of her window. I tried to do so quickly so I wouldn't be tempted to lengthen my stay.

"I love you," she whispered towards me as I crossed her lawn again.

I turned around and mouthed "I love you too," in her direction, then finally went back into the woods to finish off my shift.

The rest of the night was unbearable, as I tried so hard to suppress my tensions.

_Sexual tensions_, Skah added. _I know exactly how you feel my brother._

Before Skah could go into detail about what he wanted to do with Kimi, Tona let out a whine._ Please for the love of humanity, don't think about that._

Skah shut up then and just tried to force images of fluffy kittens into his mind.

The following morning, I pulled into Kenzie's driveway in Tyson's van at precisely seven. Kenzie was already waiting for me on her porch, with her duffel bag in tow. I got out to open up the passenger door and she got in gracefully.

Just as I was about to turn the radio volume down to ask her how she had slept, she began to speak. "Did Quil imprint on Claire?"

I clutched the steering wheel, turning out of her driveway, and cleared my throat. "What would make you think that?" I couldn't lie to her, but I could hold the truth off a little, couldn't I?

She crossed her arms. She started numbering off her reasons on her fingers. "Well, from what you explained to me, imprinted people are pretty much attached at their hips, no matter their age difference. And I always kind of thought it was weird, him being a nearly 30 year old man, and always hanging around Claire. He always stares at her kind of the way I catch you looking at me. He's oddly protective over her. He doesn't try to get in her pants. And for as long as I've known him, he has never had a girlfriend."

My silence gave away the obvious answer. It's not that I didn't want Kenzie to know, but there was some fear in me that if Kenzie knew, then she would tell Claire. That wasn't going to be the case now, since most likely they would never see each other again. At least, I would have thought so.

"I knew it!" She gasped. "That makes so much sense. She knows, right?"

Again, my lack of words led her to a conclusion. "She doesn't? Oh my god... he must be so distraught."

Before I could reply with the truthful answer that he didn't know yet, we had parked in my driveway. What I saw made my heart stop momentarily.

Standing in our driveway was Quil, opposite of him was Kail. They appeared as though they were arguing and Quil threw a newspaper at him.

"Oh, shit..." I fumbled around for my phone in my jean pockets. I handed it to Kenzie. "Call Embry and tell him to get over here now. Don't get out of the van." Hastily, I exited the vehicle and walked over to my brother and Quil.

Quil looked at me, and his eyes were crazed. He held up the newspaper right in my face. On the front page there was Claire's school picture, the headline read 'GIRL ATTACKED BY MOUNTAIN LION' "Tell me this is some kind of sick fucking joke, Gene."

I gulped and rattled my brain for something I could say that would calm him down.

"She's dead!" Kail yelled at him.

Quil grunted fiercely. "She is not dead. I can feel her. She is alive. What is wrong with her?"

Again he turned to me for answers. I remained absolutely silent, though, unsure about anything I could possibly say or do.

Quil's voice got louder as he closed in on me. "Tell me now, Gene, or I swear I will-"

Before he could finish his threat, Kenzie screamed from behind me. "Get away from him!" She stomped over to where we were standing and forced her way in front of me. Quil started to shake, looking between the three of us. I pushed Kenzie behind me.

"Get inside," I told her.

She started to protest, but not for long as Kail grabbed her, picked her up, and practically dragged her inside. She cussed and yelped the entire way.

"Where is she Gene?" Quil's voice suddenly dropped a few notches as he looked at me, with almost tears filling up in his eyes.

I opened my mouth to begin to tell him the story, but again we were interrupted by Embry and Jacob. They ran out of the woods, struggling to quickly button up their pants.

Quil looked at them and started to shake again. "Will some one please tell me what is going on?"

Embry looked at Quil solemly, and Jacob put his hand on Quil's shoulder. "Quil, come with us," the three of them started heading back into the woods.

I let out a sigh of relief. Turning around to head back in the house, I saw Kenzie shutting the front door of my house. She walked down the wooden stairs and straight to me. "You okay?" She asked as I held her in my arms.

My lips formed a smile as I looked down at her. "I'm fine. Can't say the same for Quil though."

A ear piercing howl rang out from the forest and I cupped my hands over Kenzie's ears. She stared at me in fear and I touched my lips to her forehead.

"Let's go inside."

**Well, that was long overdue! Sorry, but recently I've been having breakdowns about my writing. I've always had a hard time writing prose because I am just horrible at describing things, but maybe I've gotten a little better?**

** Next chapter we will be back in Claire's POV! **


	13. Keep On Runnin'

**I'm back! I'm so sorry for anyone I have been keeping waiting. It's been half a year since I've updated, and I hope that over the last six months my writing class has helped me in my skills. Please review, and if you do, I'll be more likely to continue to write another chapter or two!**

_"Mom, why do you have to leave?" I pulled on her hand as she stood in the doorway. _

_She stopped and turned to face me. "I have to go up town to get some milk. I'll be right back Claire, sweetie, I promise." She dropped my hand and jangled the set of keys in her other hand. "Now be a good girl, I'll be back in an hour. When I return we'll open presents. Won't that be nice?" For a moment she turned to exit, but at the last moment she crouched down a little so she was eye level with me. "I love you, Claire." She pulled her cardigan sleeve over her hand and wiped at the corner of her eye._

_ "I love you too mom," I said in an instant, it was never a question to me whether or not my mom truly loved me. I would always feel the same for her too._

Fire. I'm on fire. What's happening to me? Why hasn't some one killed me?

_A lady with the name tag Sue directed me through a door in the clinic. It was the place where Quil had been instructed by my father to bring me to three times a week. This was my ninth appointment with a speech therapist. She signed to me but I had no idea what she was saying._

_ I signed the generic sign for "Hello" and took a seat on the couch._

_ She saw my confusion and started speaking vocally while using her hands. "Claire, how often have you been looking at your flash cards?"_

_ I shrugged my shoulders. To be honest, I hadn't even picked them up once. Quil offered to help me run through them once a night, but I always turned him down. The longer I put off not learning sign language, the longer I could keep peacefully to myself._

_ After my mother's death, I had come down with a case of bronchitis which destroyed my vocal cords. For a while I could talk in a very quiet and scratchy voice, but I had lost that ability now. For a month now I haven't had to say a word to anyone. It was probably for the better, considering I wasn't nessacarily happy with anyone. _

_ Sue sighed, "Claire, the sooner you learn, the sooner you won't have to see us anymore. I'm sure your older brother is sick of driving you here."_

_ That would be Quil she was talking about. It was just easier to explain to people that he was a brother. It wasn't that far from the truth. While he was here, he had decided to sign up for a sign language class for the "Family of the Impaired". He had picked up a lot, and frequently tried to teach me anything. I would be lying if I said I hadn't picked up a few words from him, but most times I just felt like tuning him and Sure out._

KILL ME. I heard voices constantly around me, why weren't they killing me? Did they not know the agony I was in?

_Quil's muffled voice yelling was louder to me than the sound of the ocean pulling me in two seperate directions. He screeched out my name twice before I saw him dive beneath the surface. I watched his blurry figure come closer and closer to my body that seemed like it was stuck to the ocean floor. His hot hands grabbed my frail, twelve year old shoulders and before I knew what was happening, I could breathe again. My throat burned while my body was being towed. I started coughing up a mixture of salt water and snot._

_ Soon enough I was being dragged up onto the sand. Quil's toned body was crouched over me, his t-shirt clung to his chest. His hands came to my face as I tried to keep away from his concerned eyes. "Claire, what were you doing?"_

_ I kept my eyes away in shame. I had thought that I was finally able to surf alone. I had come to the beach on a cold, stormy day, hoping that no one would catch me. The waves were bigger than I thought, I got caught up in a rip tide. Now my surf board Quil had bought me was drifting out to sea and he had ran out of the tribal meeting to come and save me. _

_ He sat next to me the next few minutes as I finished up my coughing fits. He sighed as he started to empty out his pockets. He pulled out a wet cell phone and a wallet. _

_ I finally gathered up enough strength to sign, "I'm sorry." My eyes started watering._

_ He tossed the items back in his pocket and lifted me up. "Don't be sorry, my Claire bear. I don't even care about the board. I'm just glad you're okay. From now on you and me are going to spending more time together." He looked at me in his arms and mustered up a smile. It was hard to stop the lip rising sensation from crossing over my face too. _

Gradually, I could feel my body start to cool down. I wasn't sure what was happening, it just felt like the flame that had been enveloping me was subsiding. The memories that I had started focusing on as a distraction were becoming easier and easier to remember. The ones involving Quil were working the best.

_I woke up from the same nightmare I had been having since my mom died. I don't even know if you could've considered it as a dream. It was just me floating above my bed staring at myself asleep self. As if I were close to death and having an out of body experience each night._

_I glanced at my alarm clock and slammed my hand against the buzzer just seconds before the alarm could go off. My first chore of the day was getting Holly ready. I changed her diaper I dressed her in a giraffe printed shirt and pants. I pulled her from her crib, walked into the kitched and set her down in her high chair. For breakfast she had baby carrots and dry cheerios. _

_ While she was distracted by throwing her cheerios on the ground and laughing, I went around to wake the boys up. I was their personal alarm clock. My dad passed by me in the hall and kissed my head. "We got fifteen minutes, boys," he yelled in the general direction of the bedrooms. _

_ I opened Eric's and Gene's room only to find Eric, who had rolled onto the floor. I tapped his shoulder letting him know it was time to get dressed. Eric had trouble sleepign whenever it was Gene's night for patrol._

_ Walking over to Kail and Ty's room I knocked first. " 'Min," I heard Kail say drowsily. I rolled my eyes and opened the door just to slam it. It was truly the best way for those oversized wolf boys to wake up in time for school._

_ "God damnit Claire!" I heard Tyson yell as I walked away snickering. _

I felt like laughing after that memory. That routine had become so normal that often I forgot how to wake up past 7 AM.

"Something's wrong," I heard a soprano voice say.

For a while I had been able to hear voices, but it wasn't until then that I was able to focus on the words they were forming.

"Or right. Do you hear that?" Another, more deep, voice said.

"That's not possible, the venom reached her heart before we could try to take it out."

I felt my heart speed up in fear. Then in surprise, as I was finally able to feel my own heart. Something that had gone missing in the flame. Before long I was starting to feel my own fingers and toes. I dare not wiggle them, in feared that if I moved, the fire would ignite again.

"She can hear us now," another voice chimed in, "Claire. Don't be scared. We're only here to help you."

Who the hell were these people and how did they know my name?

"My name's Edward Cullen and the other voices you are hearing are my father Carlisle and my wife Bella. Jacob Black is my son in law, perhaps you know him?"

A Cullen. Often I had heard about the Cullens, but never had I thought I would meet one. I had met Renesmee of course, but she wasn't a- vampire. It hit me then that I was surrounded by a bunch of blood thirsty vampires. What the hell could they want with me?

I could hear Edward chuckle. "By the way, before I get ahead of myself, I must let you know that I can read minds, which is why I'm the one responding to you right now. Don't be afraid, we're not interested in having you as a snack. Now, if you can, I need to try to wiggle your fingers or toes so we can evaluate what exactly is happening with you."

I remained still.

"The sooner you try to regain control of your body, the sooner you can wake up."

The sooner I can find out what the hell is going on. I struggled sending messages from my brain through my arms down to my fingertips. They didn't want to move a muscle.

It sounded like another person entered the room. "What's happening? I can hear her heart," said a female voice.

The deep male voice, who I was assuming was Carlisle, responded. "Apparently, the venom didn't reach her heart. We don't know why yet."

"But if it hadn't, how come she has been going through the transformation for the last twenty hours?"

Twenty hours. My head tried to wrap itself around the idea that I had been experiencing this pain for the last day. Again, I tried harder to move my fingers. After minutes of straining myself, I could finally feel my pinky finger lift off the ground. Or whatever platform I was on.

One of the women gasped. "She's done, so soon?"

"This isn't our normal transformation, Rosalie, we can't be sure what to expect," said Carlisle.

Before long I could move all the fingers on my hands and the toes on my feet. The voices started to ring even clearer as more and more people joined in the conversation. My eyelids opened and I found myself surrounded by eight beautiful, pale people. I gulped, knowing that I was staring into the faces of vampires.

Nearly everyone took a step back.

"Her eyes," one said.

"They're brown. She didn't change."

What the hell were these bloodsuckers talking about? What change?

"Claire!" A red haired woman broke through the crowd and grabbed my hand. Another copper headed male pulled her back behind him though. I could recognize her as Renesmee, Jacob's wife, but why had that guy pulled her back?

Was everyone afraid of me?

"Could everyone step out for a moment? Maybe just me and Edward should see her right now. We've got a lot to figure out about Claire," a blonde gentleman, who's voice matched Carlisle's.

Everyone started to file out of the room.

Before I could even begin to think about it, I felt my mouth open and my vocal cords vibrate. "What the hell is going on?" I said, my voice loud and indignant.

I cupped my hand over my mouth in fear of the sound that came from my mouth. "What happened to me? I can talk? I can talk!"

My mouth started running a million miles an hour as I sat up in the bed and listened to the how sweet it sounded.

The copper haired man looked to Carlisle. "She lost her voice five years ago from a sever case of bronchitis."

Carlisle scratched his head. "Edward, then, she must have gone through some sort of transformation, not the normal one by any means."

I eyed the man Carlisle regarded at Edward. "So, you're the mind reader? You want to explain to me where I am and why I'm here?"

**What's coming up?**

"Do you feel different," Edward questioned me. I started to feel uncomfortable with him standing over me, he read my mind and instantly took a chair. I didn't know if I could get used to that.

"Besides the fact that I'm some sort of vampire, I feel really normal," I told him honestly.

Carlisle inquired next. "Do you have a craving for anything in particular? Or does your throat itch?"

My hand went up to my neck instantaneously. "I don't think so. Wait, do you mean blood?"


	14. Cats and Dogs

"Do you feel different?" Edward questioned me. I started to feel uncomfortable with him standing over me, he read my mind and instantly took a chair. I didn't know if I could get used to that.

"Besides the fact that I'm some sort of vampire, I feel really normal," I told him honestly.

Carlisle inquired next. "Do you have a craving for anything in particular? Or does your throat itch?"

My hand went up to my neck instantaneously. "I don't think so. Wait, do you mean blood?"

The last hour Edward and Carlisle had been explaining to me exactly what was happening. I had been attacked by a mountain lion, that being the only thing I could recall, and then they came and found me in the woods, recognized me as a family member of the pack, and made the call to try to save me with vampire venom.

From what Carlisle could see, though, I hadn't hardly changed at all. The only things he could observe of me that were of a vampire was my strength, my speed, and fast healing abilities.

"She's like Nessie," Carlisle said to Edward. "Only part vampire. Why, I don' know. This has never happened before." He looked at me. "You're the first, I assure you."

As Carlisle went on running a few tests with my blood, Edward continued to interview me. "Please let me know if I'm overwhelming you. And know you can ask me anything."

A question quickly popped from my mind through my lips. "Does my family know?"

"Carlisle called them whilst you were in the middle of your transformation. He told them what we had thought at the time, that you were being turned into a vampire," he let me know solemnly.

I clasped my hands and tried not to imagine how much pain they were going through at the time. "Will you call them to let them know that I'm not?"

"Soon," Edward assured me.

"Who found me in the woods? I know it wasn't one of you two. He had blonde hair like Carlisle, but he looked younger."

"That would be Leon, he's a family friend of ours. He found you and brought you to us," he replied.

For some odd reason I felt in debt to this man, although he had caused me a hard twenty hours of excrutiating pain. He was the reason I was still alive. "Can I meet him?"

Before Edward could answer me, the man I remembered seeing that night walked through the door. He was beautiful, like all the others, and his voice sounded like velvet to me as he introduced himself. "I'm Leon Atwood, pleasure to meet you, Claire." He crossed the room and grabbed my hand, only to bring it to his lips to kiss it. I shivered at the cold touch and pulled my hand back wearily.

"T-th-thank you, Leon Atwood," I found it difficult to look away from him golden brown eyes. "You saved my life."

His hand made a shoo-ing guesture. "Think nothing of it, Claire." My name coming from his lips made my heart speed up. I wasn't sure why, but his beauty, drawl, and movements were pulling me to him the longer I kept eye contact with him.

"Leon, that's enough. We need to let Claire rest now," Edward interrupted our locked eyes.

Our gaze broke and I felt myself fall back into the pillows on my bed. Leon lifted his hand to wave and then exited the room. There was somethings strange about him.

As he left, Carlisle walked in with a clipboard in his hands. He was finishing up writing something before he looked at Edward, then to me.

"I have a theory," he told us.

Before he could tell me exactly what his theory was, I saw the glance exchanged between Edward and him. Edward shook his head ever so slightly and then turned to me. "It's a rough theory, but it might be possible."

"What?" I all but begged to be let in to their secret conversation.

Carlisle spoke up. "You are familiar with the legends of the Quileute shape shifters, correct?"

"Yes," I nodded my head. 

Edward spoke this time. "What we're thinking is perhaps that because of your bond with all of the shape shifters, that those relationships some how prohibited you from becoming a full vampire."

I narrowed my eyes, trying to view the theory in my head from all angles. "So I didn't transform all the way because I'm related to a few werewolves? I'm not even Quiluete, my parents are both Makahs."

Edward looked down, "Like I said, rought theory. but it's all we got for now."

Before I could question them more on how that idea could possibly work, Carlisle interrupted me.

"Claire, try and get some rest. I'm going to give you a couple sedatives to help you sleep, just because now I'm sure your minds running a million miles an hour with all the information you've been given. Once you wake we can explain everything else, get you some food, and give you a tour of the house." He smiled, setting down two blue pills in the palm of my hand. I grabbed the water bottle from my bedside table and took them happily. He was right, it would be nice to relax for while. My mind was tiring me out.

Before he and Edward could leave the room I stopped him with a question. "Will one of you call my family and let them know what's happening?"

"Of course," Carlisle confirmed as he shut off the light. "Sleep well."

When I awoke I found a tray of food next to me. There were half a dozen plates on it and a pitcher of water. Before I could dig in, my blonde hair savior walked through the door.

"How are you Claire?" He asked, sitting in the chair beside my bed. "Have you eaten?"

Trying not to get caught up in his eyes like last time, I glanced at the food and picked up the first plate. It was turkey and mashed potatoes smothered in gravy. "Not yet," I told him. Then without much thought I started to shovel the food down my mouth.

Once my initial hunger started going down, I started to slow down, embarassed to be eating like such a slob in front of this man. He didn't seem to mind though.

"What I wouldn't give for gravy. I used to put that stuff on everything," he licked his lips.

Feeling guilty, I tried handing to him my plate. He put up his hands in protest and laughed. "Of course, I can't eat that stuff now. I'd close to vomit."

My memories came back to me about what being a vampire was. No sleeping, no aging, no procreating, and no eating human food. Their diet was based around one thing and one thing only. "Sorry," I said softly, setting the plate back on the tray. Next I picked up a bowl of clam chowder. How could they have known my favorite foods?

Once I slurped down the full bowl, I set that down as well. I clutched my stomach, satisfied. "That hit the spot," I told Leon, trying to keep up conversation. For however long I had been eating the soup, he had been staring at me.

Like before, he grabbed my hand and locked my eyes with his. "Will you tell me more about yourself Claire?"

With all my might I retracted my hand, "Please don't do that," the words coming from my mouth even surprised me. "I'm sorry, I mean, what do you want to know?"

He didn't seem too offended as he started pondering. "What's your last name?"

"Young," I told him.

"What's your favorite color?" He asked, looking honestly curious about such a trivial thing.

"Green. I like green."

He leaned forward in his chair, seeming more comfortable now. "What was it like not being able to talk?"

I thought a minute about this one. "I- I don't know if I really can explain in words or phrases you'll understand. In some ways it felt like I had been put in time out and wasn't allowed to speak. In other ways it was a blessing, because people I didn't want to talk to, I didn't have to."

Edward came in the room then. "Claire, glad to see you're awake. Leon?" He looked at the man next to me and gave him a slightly furious look.

"Claire and I were just having a conversation, I wasn't trying to disturb her," Leon explained, getting up to leave. "I'll have to talk to you later, Claire." He left the room, leaving just Edward and I.

"Sleep well?" He asked.

"Why ask? You already know," I told him with a chuckle.

He shrugged and took a seat. "Just trying to be polite. I don't mean to pry, in your thoughts, I mean."

"It must be a nice power to have. Do you all have some sort of super power? You or Carlisle didn't mention anything about that earlier," I wondered aloud.

"Sort of," he sighed and sat back in his seat, "It's a lot to explain."

"That's fine, I want to know," I said sincerely.

Before he could start, his eyes flickered to the door, then back to me. "Is it okay if my wife Bella comes to join us? She'd be better at explaining it than I anyways."

I nodded and his wife walked in. She had a beautiful round face and dark hair. I could definitely see the the similarities between her and Renesmee.

"Hi Claire," she came up to my bed. "How was your food?"

I was remind of the four plates of susenance beside me. "Oh, it was great. I'm sorry I wasn't able to eat all of it."

She shook her head, "It's no problem. Esme was happy to cook for some one."

"Esme is my mother," Edward answered my question before it could even come out of my mouth.

I looked up at Bella. "Do you have a super power?"

Her giggle rang out like bells, and almost made me want to laugh with her. "I guess you could call it that. I do have a power which allows me to shield me or anyone else around me from others' powers."

I sat there confused. "So, does that mean Edward can't read your mind?"

Her smile stayed, "Correct. Unless I put my shield down, then he can."

"What do you mean, put it down? You can stop your powers?"

She thought a few seconds before explaining it to me. "After a while, you start to learn how to work with your power. How to use it in different ways, how to put it aside, and how to use it to help others. Take Edward's sister Alice as an example. She can see into the future, but with that ability, she can also learn how to prevent what she sees."

I put my hand to my head. "She can see the future? What's Carlisle's power?"

Edward spoke up. "He doesn't have one. Not every vampire does."

"What about me? You said I've gained some vampiric qualities, does that mean I could get one?" The thought both excited and frightened me.

"It's possible, our daughter Nessie has one, and she's half human," said Bella.

They must have seen something in my eyes because as Bella reached to console me, Edward reassured me that it most likely wouldn't happen.

Just then, Edward and Bella exchanged a glance for nearly thirty seconds. I could tell that some sort of conversation was flowing between them.

"What?"

They kept looking away until finally Bella's eyebrows raised, her smile sunk, and her hand squeezed mine. "Claire, do you know why you were out in the woods that night?"

I tried to keep from gasping as the memories started slowly flowing back into my subconcious. Not everything made sense, but I could pick up on the events. Derrick planned on taking me home that night and raping me. We pulled over and I ran out into the dark forest. He tried to find me, but I ran away too fast for him to catch me. It was too bad that I couldn't outrun that mountain lion. But the cat's body was only on me for nearly a minute before some one had found me. Leon had. He picked me up in his arms and I sobbed in pain with every single move he made. He apologized for what was about to happen. I fainted before I could see anything more happen.

I looked up, remembering where I was now. I looked back and forth between Edward and Bella. I wanted to lie and tell them that I had just been out for a walk. But Edward already knew the truth. I felt warm tears sliding down my cheeks and my face scrunched up in protest.

Bella looked like she might cry herself, and she tried to wipe my tears with her thumbs. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want."

I looked to Edward, pleading.

He spoke to me in a comforting tone. "If you don't want me to tell anyone, I won't. Even I understand that some secrets are just better kept quiet. No one's going to ask you again, I can promise you." Once he finished, he grabbed my other hand.

I had met these strangers just mere hours ago and already they felt like some sort of family to me. Without them I would be lying on the forest floor, bleeding, half alive. They had taken me in, saved my life, and gave me a place to sleep, food to eat, and loving gestures. "Thank you. Thank you and your whole family," I said to Edward.

He shook his head. "No need to thank anyone, we're all happy to see you alive and well."

Bella smiled, "You have no clue how nice it is to have some one like you around. We love having some one to take care of, it brings the best out of all of us."

Edward nodded his head in agreement. "Now, Claire, would you like to get up and see around the place you've been staying?"

My face unscrunched and my tears started to fall down slower. "That would be nice," I told them both.

Both of them held on to me as I tried to get out of bed. Surprisingly, it wasn't hard at all. I could've done it without their help, but it was nice to have some one to lean on. After I stood for a few minutes, they let me go. I started to walk around the room, noticing new things about my surroundings.

Before long I caught myself looking into a mirror. Instead of my usual lanky, frizzy haired, bagged-eyed self, I found a more beautiful women in front of me. She had thick hips, smooth, shiny raven hair and a face fresh from an acne commercial. I began to place my hands around my face, feeling the girl I saw in front of me. She looked like me, an older me. An older, more comfortable looking me. She- I mean, I- was beautiful.

Bella appeared behind me. "You look great. Not that you weren't always beautiful, but the transformation does help you to see yourself in a better light."

I nodded. I felt my stomach clench at the thought of Quil seeing me like this. Then unclenched when I realized that he may never want to see me again. Not after what had happened on the beach. Before I could dwell on the horrible thought for too long, I noticed the attire I was in. It was a yellow sundress, with a slight v-neck, cap sleeves, and a skirtline that went below my knees. I definitely didn't own anything this pretty.

"Do you like the dress? My sister Rose lent it to you, you two are pretty similar in body size."

"It's beautiful," I said, twirling ever so slightly just to see how the dress would move. I looked like I was on my way to a wedding rather than having just laid in a bed for a day and a half.

Trying to not appear so vain, I turned from the mirror. "What's outside of this room?" I asked them both. "Can I see it?"

Within the next couple of hours Edward and Bella had introduced me to everyone and everything that was in their coven, as they called it. I was surprised when I first walked out that I found myself inside of a mansion. Not a typical one you'd expect vampires to live in, but something you'd see in Beverly Hills. Complete with a pool room, a billiards room, and a library.

The next surprise came when they led me out of the house. They started walking me through a path in the woods, and we came upon a cottage. They told me it was the house they were living in. I asked them why instead didn't they live in the mansion and they said that they liked the privacy. As we walked on the rest of the path, we came across four more similar styled houses.

I was introduced to Rosalie and Emmett. Edward's sister and brother. Earlier Edward had explained to me how neither of them were related to him, but it was just easier to call them that, since they had spent so many years together. We passed an empty cottage which is where Alice, the physic, and her husband Jasper. Bella told me that they had been away travelling for the past few months, so their cottage remained empty. Next was the guest cottage, where Leon was staying all by himself. He came out to greet me and I looked away shyly. There was something about this man that made me embarassed. Whether it was because of his stunning features or his alluring eyes. I didn't know why I was so scared to be attracted to him, it's not like I was taken or anything. Far from, actually.

After passing the guest cottage, we were at Renesmee and Jacob's cottage. Boy, was I surprised when Sarabelle and William walked out. I shouldn't have been, because I knew they were their kids, but it was still weird to see them outside of school or pack gatherings.

Sarabelle came up to me and hugged me. "Claire! Welcome!" I tried to forget about how she had used my brother, and reached my arms around to hug her back. William lifted up his hand to wave, but stayed at a distance. He was always a quiet one, which I appreciated. He was the complete opposite of his twin sister.

Behind them was Renesmee, and she reached to hug me as well. "You just missed Jacob, he's gone to La Push for the next couple of days," she spoke.

"Where is he off to?" I asked her curiously.

She retracted the hug and sucked in her lips. She looked like she was feeling guilty of having said too much.

I looked at the ground, realizing myself exactly why Jacob had gone to La Push. I had almost forgotten about how close he and Quil were. He was probably on his way to give the news.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, "I shouldn't have said anything. I didn't mean to make your stay here harder than it already is."

As she said that I felt my heart tug in several different ways as I thought about Holli, Eric, Kenzie, Kail, Gene, my father, Tyson, and everyone else who was missing right now. _Quil_. My mind pressed me, _don't forget Quil_.

Earlier, when I told Edward how much I was missing home, he softly reminded me that I wouldn't be able to go home until I could control myself better. I did have new strength, and if I wasn't careful, it was possible that I could hurt some one. In my head I imagined myself reaching down to hug Holli, and squeezing her so tight that she broke into a million pieces. I agreed with Edward, telling him that I wasn't going home until I was completely sure of my own strength.

"Claire," Bella grabbed my arm gently to pull me away from my haunting thoughts, "Would you like to stay with Nessie? We thought maybe since you knew Sarabelle and William, it would be the most comfortable for you."

I looked at her and answered calmly. "I'd rather stay with you and Edward, if that's okay. I feel most comfortable with you two." In all actuality I didn't think I could stand it if Sarabelle and I were put in the same room. I wasn't exactly in the mood to give her a chance.

Something in Bella's eyes lit up and I could tell she was trying to hold back a smile. "That's fine with me. I'd love for you to stay with us, Claire," she snaked her arm behind mine and gave me a gentle rub on the back.

If you would have told me two days ago that I was letting a vampire touch me, and was actually okay with it, I would have thought you were crazy. From what I had heard from most of the pack, vampires were the enemy. They rarely spoke about the Cullen's, but when they did, they considered them "tolerable". All day I had been trying to judge them on hospitality rather than what my biases were. To me, they felt like a family.

Edward placed his hand on my shoulder. "I'm glad you think that. Something about you is very special Claire."


End file.
